


start//end

by crescend0



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, I hope y'all like death, So much death, and wendigos, there's gonna be death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-05-28 15:51:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15052613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crescend0/pseuds/crescend0
Summary: A year ago today the Washington twins ran off into the Blackwood wilderness and were never heard from again. As 8 friends prepare to regroup at the same lodge that the tragedy occurred, an ancient curse is reawakened and the friends find themselves aided at every turn by a silent stranger wielding a flamethrower. Can these 8 friends survive the curse of the mountains, and each other, for long enough to get rescued? Who is this mysterious, and helpful, stranger? And, most importantly, what happened to the Washington twins?Until Dawn AU - same general plot, same characters, but a few tiny things are different, but those tiny things make all the difference. Boom. The Butterfly Effect.





	1. (i've missed times)

Prologue - 1 year ago, night of the Washington twin’s disappearance;

 

Soft lips. Beth couldn’t help but notice those soft, pink lips. Wishing she could capture them in a hungry kiss, wanting to make them swell and blush red from her vigorous kisses. But man, no amount of imagination could amount to how good it felt for those soft lips to be attacking her neck, nipping and sucking, making her writhe in pleasure. Lithe fingers found purchase in thick, blonde hair. A breathy moan passed those rosy pink lips as Beth gave her blonde hair a gentle tug. Brown eyes met blue ones, both dark with arousal.

“Sam… we should talk about this.” Beth murmured, devoting all of her willpower to suppress the urge to capture her friend’s soft lips in another bruising kiss. Sam gently nuzzled her nose against Beth’s neck, then began peppering light, feather-soft kisses against the expanse of hyper-sensitive skin. Beth’s head rolled back involuntarily, moaning softly. From her place sitting on top of Sam, straddling her waist, Beth was acutely aware of the heat pooling between both of the girl’s legs. Sam’s hands were cupping Beth’s ass, and Beth’s hand not occupied with Sam’s hair was gently caressing Sam’s cheek. Beth was surprised and a bit anxious at the fact that not a single one of their friends had tried to find them. They were in a dark, locked room on the second floor of the mansion-like lodge, sitting on the floor, with a blanket Beth snatched from her room on the way up as the only thing between them and the freezing stone floor.

 

“What do you want to do, Beth?” Sam’s blue eyes met Beth’s gaze again. Sam’s eyes were so open and reassuring, quelling the nerves running rampant in Beth’s mind.

“Everything.” Beth breathed, and Sam’s lips crashed into hers with no further hesitation. In no time, Beth found herself on her back, shirt bunched up below her breasts as Sam trailed kisses down her toned stomach. Beth’s eyes squeezed shut, breathing growing erratic as Sam gently pulled Beth’s leggings down to her ankles. Just then, the sound of laughter echoed from a nearby room, and pounding footsteps soon followed, moving at a fast pace. Sam lifted her head, and Beth lifted herself up on her elbows.

 

“Whatever that was about, it doesn’t sound good. We should probably check it out.” Sam said, somewhat regretfully, and rose from her place between Beth’s legs. Beth sighed, really hoping it was just Josh and Chris being idiots so they could return to their prior activity. Beth pulled her leggings back on and exited the room, Sam on her heels. 

 

“Josh? Hannah? Mike?” Beth called out. A flash of movement caught her attention, and Beth turned to see Jess, Mike, Emily, Matt, and Ashley running out the front door. Exchanging a worried look with Sam, the two girls jogged down the stair and burst out the doors behind the rest of their friends. 

 

“It was just a prank, Han.” cried out Emily towards the dark, stormy woods.

 

“What the hell? What’s happening?” Beth shouted over the whistle of the pre-storm winds, feeling a different kind of chill creep up her spine as her friends looked at her with guilt-laden eyes. “What did you guys do?” screamed Beth, panic beginning to cloud her vision with a red haze.

 

“It was just a silly prank. How were we to know she would run into the woods in the middle of a fucking blizzard?” Mike answered, having the decency to look a bit abashed. Beth screamed at him, rushing forwards, her right fist making contact with his irritatingly sharp jawline with a solid thwack. Mike stumbled backwards, hurling curses at Beth as he cradled his already bruising jaw, but Beth’s burning gaze was set on Emily now.

 

“Which way did she go?” Beth’s voice was low and dangerous, the skin on her knuckles split and trickling blood from the force of her punch. Emily looked a bit nervous, and she lifted her hand and pointed towards the thickest patch of the woods. Without another word, Beth spun on her heel and raced in that direction. Sam watched her go helplessly before rounding on her friends.

 

“What the  _ fuck _ , guys. I don’t even want to know what kind of horrible thing you did to Hannah to prompt her to run into the fucking woods in the dark in the middle of a goddamn blizzard.” Sam fumed fixing each of her present friends with furious glares. Mike opened his mouth to speak, presumably to defend himself, but Sam silenced him with a dismissive hand gesture. “Hannah trusts you guys; and you had to go and betray her. Now Beth is out there, wandering alone in a blizzard and I know Beth, she won’t come back until she’s found Hannah. Don’t you understand that your ‘silly prank’ has put two of you friend’s  _ lives _ in danger?” Sam was on the verge of tears, worry for her two best friends was becoming overwhelming. Emily stepped forwards, her signature sneer already plastered back on her face.

 

“And where the hell were you and Beth during this whole thing? Nobody has been able to find you two all night. Maybe if you or Beth had been by Hannah’s side then she wouldn’t have fallen for our trick! You’re just as much at fault, so don’t you pull this high and mighty shit on us.” Emily retorted, crossing her arms defiantly at Sam. Sam stared at her, blinking, at a loss for words, when a horrible scream tore through the air. Every fiber of Sam’s being grew cold; that scream was so full of agony and terror, whoever it came from must have produced it with their dying breath.

 

* * *

 

Beth crashed through the woods, ignoring the sharp pricks of pain as tree branches tore across her face and whipped her legs. Her heart was pounding and her head was spinning by the time she cleared the underbrush, the freezing cold air making breathing difficult. Beth jogged swiftly down the path, eyes peeled for footprints, or any other sign of her sister. Stopping at a crossroads, Beth’s head whipped from side to side

 

“Hannah? Hannah, where are you?” Beth cried out, almost sobbing in relief when she heard Hannah’s distant reply;

 

“Beth? Beth! Over here!” Beth rushed towards the path on the left hand side, and found Hannah, huddled on the ground, shivering violently, tears running down her face. “I’m such an idiot! So stupid… so fucking stupid!” Hannah cried, curling into Beth’s open arms.

 

“Oh my God, Hannah, you’re cold as ice.” Beth unzipped her parka and handed it to her sister, who took her with a small, wavering smile of gratitude. “Let’s get you back to the cabin, and in front of a fire.” Beth helped Hannah to her feet and the two began walking back down the path towards the lodge. A sharp crack echoed in front of them and the twins froze in place. 

 

“What the fuck was that.” Hannah whispered, panicked eyes meeting Beth’s. Beth’s heart was racing, but she fought to keep her panic down, as not to agitate her sister any more. A guttural growl rang out and, slowly, a nightmarish creature crawled out of the thicket surrounding them. Its eyes were soulless, milky white, and its teeth were jagged and sharp, bits of rotting flesh wedged between them. It cocked its head at them, looking in their direction, but seemingly not seeing them. Beth was in full panic mode, but remained in control of her breathing, limiting her movements to the subtle rise and fall of her chest. The creature crept forwards, bringing with it the stench of death and rotting flesh. Hannah’s breathing was growing erratic the closer the creature came towards them, and Beth gently squeezed Hannah’s arm, praying her sister understood what she was trying to convey. The fiend stepped ever closer, its ghoulish face now inches from Beth’s own, its hot, stinking breath wafting straight into her nose, and Beth could feel bile rising in her throat. Hannah was shaking, eyes locked on Beth’s face. Beth pleaded with her eyes, recognizing the blind terror on her sister’s face and realizing what was about to happen, but Hannah could no longer hold it in. A bloodcurdling scream escaped her throat, so loud and heart wrenching it even made Beth flinch. The creature’s head whipped around and it hissed at Hannah, reaching out for her with its eerie, elongated fingers. Beth grabbed Hannah’s arm and ran, pulling her sister back towards the heart of the woods. The creature screeched at them leaping after them in an odd, erratic manner. The twins ran, fueled by terror, and the beast followed, fueled by hunger. Beth’s head whipped around, just in time to see the creature shrieking in agony as it got blasted by a plume of flame. Suddenly, the ground vanished from under Beth’s feet, and she barely had a chance to scream before she found herself plummeting, dragging her sister down with her. Her descent was halted by something grabbing her wrist. A gloved hand, a man, dressed in many layers, leaning precariously over the edge. He grabbed her arm with his other hand as well and began to pull them up. Beth felt relief wash over her; they were gonna be ok, when suddenly, a distinct cracking sound came from the rock platform their savior was kneeling on. He froze, and Beth felt her breath catch in her throat. It all happened so fast; the rock crumbled, the man plummeted with them, down towards their inevitable doom.

 

* * *

 

Beth’s eyes opened and she groaned, holding her throbbing head. Sitting up, Beth blinked rapidly, eyes trying to adjust to her dark, dank surroundings. When they did, Beth choked back a scream and scrambled backwards, away from the gory sight before her. The man that tried to save them was sprawled out next to her, limbs twisted at unnatural angles. His head was completely caved in on one side, a mixture of blood and brain matter leaking from the carnage. Beth began to sob as she realized the only thing that shielded her from the same rocky demise was this poor man’s body; he had taken the brunt of the fall. Beth turned her head warily, afraid of what she would find of her sister. Beth gasped falling to her knees as she saw Hannah lying a ways away, one leg twisted at a horrible angle, her entire body deathly still. Beth crawled over to her, body wracked with sobs, and cradled her sister’s head on her lap. Hannah’s skin was cold and Beth sobbed harder, caressing Hannah’s deathly cold cheek lovingly.

  
“I’m so sorry, sis. I promised i would protect you, and I failed. I’m s-so s-sorry.” Beth blubbered, her tears dripping on Hannah’s pale face. Gently, Beth moved Hannah’s head off her lap and rose to her feet shakily, wiping the tears off her face. Beth could feel her resolve building, and she began to assess her surroundings. “I am not going to die like this. I promise, Hannah, I will get out of here. For you.” Beth murmured, tearing her gaze away from her sister’s lifeless form. Crinkling her nose, Beth approached the mysterious man’s body again. A large, strange contraption was laying a few feet away from his body. “Please tell me that’s what I think it is.” Beth spoke out loud, even hearing her own voice was reassuring at this point. Grabbing the machine, Beth hoisted it up. It was surprisingly light, and smelled of gasoline. Beth recalled the plume of flame that came from nowhere and made that monster scream in pain. Beth regarded the machine again, feeling a grin begin to creep onto her face. She knew it was no time to be grinning, she was surrounded by dead bodies, and one of them was her twin sister, but Beth couldn’t help herself; she was holding a fucking  _ flamethrower.  _ Beth slipped the strap around her body, tightening it to her petite frame and securing the flamethrower to her back. Inspecting his body again, Beth found a machete in his belt, and grabbed that as well. Giving her sister’s body a quick kiss on the forehead, Beth set off deeper into her underground prison. Not 5 minutes after she left, there was movement once more in those mines, as the other Washington twin sat up, shaking hands wrapped around her horribly mangled leg, searching the chamber for any sign of her twin. But there was nothing, nobody. Hannah was alone, and oh, so hungry.


	2. it's played out

Present day - 1 year anniversary of the Washington twin’s disappearance;

 

Sam winced as the bus jostled violently, gripping her phone firmly as she continued to gaze numbly at the foggy, majestic Canadian wilderness. The podcast she was listening to droned on through her earbuds, only capturing Sam’s attention when they mentioned the Washington twins by name; Hannah and Beth.  _ Beth. _ Sam felt her heart ache at the mere mention of her former best friend’s name. After the disappearance, Sam had taken it the hardest, even harder than Josh, some may argue. Her friends all assumed she was distraught because of her close friendship with both the twins, especially Hannah. Nobody knew the real reason; Sam had been head of heels in love with Beth Washington since freshman year in high school. When the two were coerced into a drunken kiss at a party a week or so before the incident, it prompted Beth to confess her feelings for Sam, and Sam could’ve sworn she was floating on a cloud. The trip to the lodge would be the perfect chance for the two of them to figure out what they wanted to be with each other. But disaster struck, and Sam can’t help but feel incredibly guilty.  _ If Beth and I hadn’t been so preoccupied with each other, maybe we could’ve stopped that stupid prank.  _ Sam’s blood boiled at the thought of seeing everybody again, in the same place that her heart had been ripped out of her chest and mangled beyond repair. Sam had been supportive and cheerful, for her friend’s sakes, but inside she was hollow. She had lost love, no, she had love ripped from her, and it would take a hell of a lot more than some stupid party for her to forgive her friends, and herself. The bus jolted to a stop, startling her out of her train of thought. Sam sighed, gathered her stuff, and set out for the trek to the cable car station. 

 

 

* * *

 

Ashley gazed up at the looming lodge, shuddering slightly from the mixture of the freezing cold air and the ominous energy that radiated off the mansion in overpowering waves. Ashley was not a violent person, far from it, but she was seriously considering slugging Josh whenever he decided to show his stupid face. Josh said he would be there before everyone arrived; but here Ashley was, sitting on the porch of her friend’s locked log palace, thoroughly alone, staring out into the dark forest that two of her friends went missing in. Ashley couldn't shake the feeling that something was off; Ashley wasn’t a very spiritual person, but she did trust her own intuition, and her intuition told her she wasn’t alone in these woods. A twig snapped, causing Ashley’s head to whip towards the sound so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. Squinting her eyes, Ashley could’ve sworn she saw a silhouette duck out of sight. Thoroughly unsettled, Ashley shifted uncomfortably, suddenly becoming aware of every little sound the forest produced. Another twig cracked and Ashley jumped. This time she is sure she saw a person moving just beyond the tree line.

 

“Josh you insufferable prick! I swear to God, if that’s you, I’m gonna… kick your ass! Yeah, totally…” Ashley’s threat lost it’s vigor when Josh’s laughter did not ring out, as she expected. The woods were now eerily silent. Taking a deep breath, Ashley began to walk slowly towards the area where the commotion occured.  Treading carefully, Ashley peered past the bushes obscuring her view. There was almost no sign of a person anywhere; save for rather large boot prints, and several crushed remains of twigs. And one more thing; a glint of silver shone out to Ashley from a nearby bush. Ashley approached the bush, curiosity piqued, and gently untangled a silver necklace from one of the bush’s unruly branches. The pendant dangling from the chain spun so it faced Ashley, and when she saw what it was, the redhead yelped and dropped the necklace, backing up away from it like it was the plague. The necklace had belonged to Beth; a present from Josh, she never took it off. But that was not the only quality of the necklace that made Ashley’s blood run cold; the edge of the pendant was crusted with long dried blood. Ashley choked back a helpless sob and quickly snatched up the necklace before she could convince herself otherwise. Ashley looked around once more, desperately searching for the mysterious stranger who had most likely left her this morbid gift, but there was no sign of them. Ashley retreated back to the steps of the lodge, tucking the necklace into her jacket pocket.  _ This weekend is a terrible idea. A really, really terrible idea. _

 

 

* * *

 

 

The “stranger” was agitated as soon as she saw the cable car rising from its usually idle place at the station. Grabbing her gear, Beth whistled harshly at the pack of wolf dogs that followed on her heels. The alpha, a large white wolf dog, growled discontentedly and prowled back into the old Sanitorium, the rest of her pack following her faithfully. Pulling her goggles over her eyes, a bandana over her mouth and nose, and a hood over her hair, Beth set out into the stormy dusk. As she approached the cabin, she slowed her pace, drawing her machete out of her belt loop an creeping to a spot where she had a clear view of the front of the cabin. Imagine Beth’s surprise when she spotted a familiar redhead seated on the steps, looking around nervously.  _ Fucking idiots.  _ Beth thought furiously, shaking her head angrily. Due to a rather large collection of tally marks decorating the inner walls of the Sanatorium, Beth is quite aware of what today is; the anniversary of her entrance into this hellish life of cold and fear. Her idiot brother, for whatever stupid, imbecilic reason, must have decided it was a good idea to gather his friends back at the same cabin his two sisters went missing at.  _ Goddamn fools. Great. Now I have to fucking help them.  _ Beth could barely contain her snarl of discontent as she recalled the event that triggered Hannah running into the woods, distraught out of her mind. Her “friends” were almost solely to blame for what happened to herself and her twin that night, and that was not something Beth was willing to forget, much less forgive, any time soon. All but one of them; but Beth shut down that train of thought before it even started. For a moment, Beth allowed herself to indulge in a fantasy; she emerges from the woods, unscathed, and is greeted by her big stupid brother’s crushing embrace, and tearful apologies from all of the people she used to hold dear. Almost all of them, that is. Beth shook herself out of her foolish fantasy, reminding herself she is here for a reason; she could’ve flagged down the many search and rescue teams who have swept the forest for her during the past year, hell, she even could’ve taken the cable car down herself. But no. There was something Beth had to do before she could allow herself to leave this godforsaken hellscape; and so help her, she would complete her mission or die trying. From somewhere behind her, a twig snapped, and Beth ducked down, swearing under her breath as she heard the distinct crunch of snow under boots. Ashley couldn’t see her; not yet. Carefully, Beth turned her head to investigate the snapping twig; only to see a familiar white snout poking out of the darkness.

 

“Goddamnit, Mari, you could’ve gotten torched, don’t sneak up on me like that.” hissed Beth quietly, scratching the white alpha wolf dog’s head. At least the animal had the decency to look a bit abashed, nuzzling Beth’s gloved hand apologetically. Beth sighed quietly and rose to her feet carefully, making sure Ashley’s gaze was averted from her general area. As Beth turned to make her leave, she froze, a brilliant, albeit kind of cruel, idea springing forth in her mind. Reaching into her jacket pocket, Beth pulled out her beloved necklace, the one she knew her friends would all recognise. Carefully, she found the delicate silver chain around a nearby bush, and retreated a safe distance away. Picking up a fallen twig, beth snapped it in her hands. Just as she predicted, Ashley’s head whipped towards the sound, and Beth made a show of ducking deeper into the shadowy underbrush. Beth could barely contain her amusement as Ashley weakly threatened her currently absent brother, and visibly grinned when Ashley yelped and threw the necklace at the ground. Beth couldn’t have imagined ashley taking the bait any better than this. In the back of her mind, Beth knew it was cruel, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. After all, giving her “friends” a good scare was the absolute least she could do to begin to avenge her fallen sister. Closing her eyes, Beth shook the images of Hannah out of her mind, a mixture of steely resolution and fear mingling in her mind. One way or another, Beth has a foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach; a feeling that this nightmare ends tonight, regardless of it ended in her safe in the arms of her brother, or torn apart by the claws of her very own twin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy thus far. Just so you know, i am completely in love with the prospect of Beth being a stone cold, battle hardened, wendigo killing, flamethrower wielding, badass lesbian bitch, so expect some badass action scenes sometime in the near future. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions about content you would like to see, I'll take anything into consideration. Thanks for reading


	3. (been disconnected)

353 days ago;

 

The mines were basically a dark, cold, seemingly never ending maze, but Beth was certain she was close to approaching the same cavern that she fell into a week and a half ago. It had taken about a week for Beth to find the Sanatorium, and with it the old hotel, the mystery man’s lair, his dogs, and, unfortunately, his imprisoned monsters. Beth keenly recalled the horror she felt as she looked at the several cages holding the same horrifying things that chased her and Hannah off that cliff. She wanted nothing more than to torch them all, but the man’s research said that killing them would just allow another to take its place, so she resisted. It was difficult to sleep in a place where she could hear their ghastly screams. Beth was returning to the mines to retrieve her sister’s body; she had realized that leaving her twin in the dark, creepy mines was pretty much making her wendigo bait, and Beth was crossing her fingers hoping that nothing had gotten to her yet. Beth had seen the rescue teams yesterday, the day she arrived at the Sanatorium. Beth desperately wanted to run to them, to be taken out of this horrible place. But her loyalty to her twin stopped her. What kind of twin would leave her sister’s dead body laying in a wendigo infested mine shaft? In the back of Beth’s mind, she knew her quest was silly; finding Hannah’s body wouldn’t bring her back to life, but Beth couldn’t bring herself to leave without her. If anything, it would give her peace of mind to see her sister given a proper funeral. Beth could tell she was close; the stench of rotting flesh was nearly unbearable. Beth pressed the bandana closer to her face with one hand, and swung her flamethrower around so the nozzle was pointed forwards, just in case there was a beast down here with her. Beth suppressed the urge to gag once she entered the chamber, deliberately averting her eyes from the gore that was once the mystery man. A wendigo had certainly gotten to him, Beth guessed, judging by the way his entrails were scattered throughout the cave. But as Beth surveyed the rest of the room, she realized something was terribly wrong; where was Hannah? Her body was not in the place she had left it, and the bloodstain marking said spot was small and long dried, most likely from the initial fall. Beth couldn’t shake the horrible feeling that had settled into the pit of her stomach. A snarl echoed through the chamber, and Beth got a grip of her flamethrower, bracing herself. A scrabbling sound came from the far left corner of the chamber, and Beth crept forwards, hand hovering over the lethal levers on her weapon. A tell-tale wendigo screech ripped through the eerily silent air, and Beth stumbled back, startled. Milky white eyes glinted in the few rays of outside light that managed to penetrate the oppressive darkness. Beth’s eyes narrowed, and she pointed her weapon at the space right between the creature’s eyes.

 

_ “...Beth?” _ a raspy whisper echoed from the darkness, and Beth faltered, the flamethrower nozzle falling the the ground with a resonating clang. Emerging into the diluted light, was Hannah. No, no, this thing wasn’t Hannah anymore. Her eyes were milky white, and her face was frozen in a gruesome grin, jagged teeth poking out of her mouth and through the stretched out skin on her cheeks. Her hair was limp and dead, and clumps of it were completely missing, leaving grotesque patches of leathery skin exposed. Her form was so gaunt it was practically skeletal, her clothes hung off her body loosely. Her fingers were long and gnarled, ending in sharpened, slightly curled nails, that had what looked like bits of flesh stuck in them.  _ “...I’m… s...orry… I h...ad to… ssso… hun...gry…” _ Hannah managed, her words sounding oddly spaced and forced, like her body was no longer designed to produce words. Beth was crying, she could feel the tears streaming down her face, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away from her twin’s mangled face. Slowly, Beth raised the flamethrower. Wendigo spirit be damned, Beth couldn’t just leave her sister to suffer a hellish life of eternal hunger. Hannah’s eyes flickered towards the flamethrower, and she hissed angrily, backing away from Beth.

 

“Hannah, I’m so sorry. It’s the only way. You’ll be at peace. Please, just trust me.” Beth sobbed, lining up the weapon with her twin’s face. How did Hannah survive? Beth could still remember how horrifically cold her skin was. Thinking back on it, Beth realized that perhaps her skin was just freezing from being pressed against the ice cold ground. Beth didn’t notice Hannah breathing, but, then again, she never really checked for breathing. It could very well have been very shallow and escaped Beth’s notice. She just assumed her twin was dead by taking one look at her horrific leg injury. The coldness of her skin was enough to confirm it in Beth’s grief addled mind. Beth sobbed harder, realizing her sister was becoming a monster because of her foolish mistake. Hannah backed up further, sinking to all fours and looking up at Beth, her feral grin twisting into a snarl. Beth closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger. She heard Hannah’s feral screech, and the sound of scrabbling nails against stone. When Beth opened her eyes, Hannah was gone, save for a few discarded, flaming scraps of clothing. Beth sobbed all the way back to the Sanatorium. Once she was through with her pity party, Beth looked out of one of the Sanatorium’s filthy windows at the floodlights that shone over a distant portion of the forest. Beth felt her hope of rescue, of returning to the life she had before, slip between her fingers. If she got herself rescued, there is no way in hell her rescuers would believe her about the wendigos. They would perhaps send another search party, but they wouldn’t find Hannah. And Hannah would be stuck in these forsaken mountains with the wendigo’s curse for as long as her prolonged life lasted. Beth couldn’t leave, not when her sister was suffering, and she could very well be the only one who could end her pain. Beth wasn’t going to leave until her sister was at peace, or she’d die trying.

 

 

* * *

__

 

Present Day;

 

By the time Sam and Chris arrived at the lodge, everybody else had already gotten there. There, but not inside, because of course the damn lock was iced shut. Chris and Josh had wandered off to try to find a way in, emily had dragged Matt away to go retrieve one of her many, many pieces of luggage, and Mike and Jess were nowhere to be found, so that just left Sam alone with Ashley. Ashley was huddled on the front steps of the cabin, shivering in the cold. She hadn’t spoken a word since Sam had arrived, not even to Chris, and she looked like she was extremely bothered by something. Sam sighed, a bit irritated there was seemingly already drama, not 5 minutes into their little weekend getaway. The blonde girl sat on the step next to Ashley and began to study her face. Her blue green eyes are downcast, and her brows were knit into a frown, and she was biting her lip vigorously. Sam gently touched Ashley’s hand, and the other girl startled, drawing back and yelping, before she noticed it was Sam who touched her.

 

“Oh, hey Sam. Didn’t see you there.” Ashley attempted a reassuring smile, but Sam just raised an eyebrow and Ashley dropped her weak façade.

 

“What’s bothering you, Ash? And don’t tell me nothing I see that look on your face, it’s like you’ve seen a ghost.” Sam attempted a joke, but the way Ashley’s eyes widened and her face turned as white as a sheet, it was clear the redhead didn’t find it funny. Sam’s brows knit in concern, and Ashley shook her head, seemingly at herself.

 

“I was gonna wait until we all got inside, but now I’m thinking it’s best if Josh doesn’t see this.” Ashley admitted glumly, hanging her head. A wave of panic crashed over Sam almost immediately.  _ It has to be about the twins. Why else would Ash not want Josh to see?  _ Sam felt her chest tighten anxiously.

 

“If Josh doesn’t see what?” Sam prodded gently, and Ashley looked up at Sam grimly, before pulling something out of her pocket. Sam forgot how to breathe; she would recognize that necklace anywhere. She still remembered how the pendant would sparkle in the sun when Beth would toss up her head and laugh at something Josh or Chris said. Sam felt the dull throb that has resided in her heart since that fateful day kick up again, making her heart ache and her lungs contract. Ashley must have seen the anguish on Sam’s face, because she tucked the necklace back into her pocket and slung an arm around Sam, rubbing circles on her shoulder blade soothingly. Once Sam managed to even out her breathing, she directed her gaze towards the ground, trying to ignore the knowing look Ashley was sending her way.

 

“Sam. Sam, honey, look at me.” Ashley gently tipped Sam’s face up towards hers, Sam didn’t even bother resisting; when Ashley went full mother hen mode, she could be even more overprotective and stubborn than Sam, a feat to be admired. “I know you loved her.” Ashley said simply, and just hearing those words Sam almost broke down. Sam didn’t try to play dumb, or dodge the question, or redirect the subject. It felt like a huge burden off her chest, for somebody, anybody, to even begin to understand how much her heart hurt. She had lost her best friend and the girl she loved on the same day. Sam bit her lip, fighting back those damned tears, and simply nodded in affirmation. 

 

“Do the others know?” Sam asked quietly, and Ashley shook her head. Sam felt a bit of tension leave her shoulders. She couldn’t bear to see the pity in their eyes if they knew. The others knew Sam was a lesbian; that had always been quite obvious, in Sam’s own opinion, but other than that, they knew nothing about her tragic love life, and Sam planned to keep it that way.

 

“As somebody who has pined after somebody for quite a long time myself, I could recognize that same glossy look of admiration you had in your eyes every time you looked at her.” Ashley admitted, eyes distant, lips pulled into the slightest ghost of a smile, like she was remembering something fondly. “I’m honestly surprised Emily ‘Has-Her-Nose-In-Everyone-Else’s-Business’ Davis didn’t catch on. She was always pestering you the most to tell her about the “secret sapphic love affair” she thought you were having behind all of our backs.” Ashley joked, trying to lighten the mood. Sam chuckled softly, remembering the grillings she used to get from Emily. What Ashley didn’t know is that Emily has a secret motive behind her inquisition, but that wasn’t Sam’s secret to spill. They were interrupted by the sound of the door opening behind them. Chris stood at the doorway, holding a lighter and a can of spray on deodorant, both of which Sam eyed suspiciously as she walked in.

 

“Chris, why do you have fire and deodorant in your hands? Actually, nevermind, I don’t want to know. Now hand me the lighter before you manage to light yourself on fire.” Sam demanded, holding her hand out like a mother taking a knife away from her 5 year old. Which, come to think of it, is pretty much what Sam is doing, except her “5 year old” is a 19 year old boy, which honestly is probably worse than an actual 5 year old. Chris handed the lighter over, mumbling something under his breath. “What was that, Christopher Hartley?” Sam snapped, and Chris cringed at Sam’s authoritative tone and use of his full name.

 

“I was just saying, I managed not to light myself on fire while I was letting your sorry ass inside.” Chris repeated fixing Sam with a challenging stare. Both of Sam’s eyebrows raised so high they almost met her hairline.

 

“And to think you’re the same ‘tough guy’ who started dancing like a dork after he successfully shot a sandbag.” Sam retorted dryly, leaving Chris blubbering for a comeback she knew he wouldn’t find. Sam heard Ashley giggling and could only imagine the ungodly shade of scarlet Chris’s face had probably turned by now. Sam sunk into one of the couches in the living room, hearing the chorus of voices from the front door that signaled the others had arrived. Sam took a deep breath, her defenses sliding into place in her mind, and prepared herself to be in the presence of Michael Munroe and Jessica Riley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll get back to Beth in the next chapter. As you can probably tell, things will sorta follow the canon for a bit longer, and then canon is gonna go out the window almost completely. Once again, I'm open to suggestions and critique, feel free to let me know what you think. Thanks for reading


	4. i've moved on

Emily could hear Matt talking to her; but she didn’t particularly care. She had dragged her boyfriend back out into the cold, not because she forgot her luggage (Hell would freeze over before she lost any of her designer clothing), but rather because she was so fundamentally unprepared to be around Jess and Mike as a couple. Emily shuddered at the thought of his large, calloused hands running through her soft, silky blonde hair, and along her soft skin and generous curves. Emily shot a quick glance at Matt, who had stopped trying to talk to her and was now taking in the scenery with a glimmer of contention in his soft gaze. Emily couldn’t help her fond smile; Matt had always been so simple, but not in a bad way. He was so laid back and sweet, and never failed to show his undying loyalty to his friends, even if it meant pissing her off, which impressed Emily more than she cared to admit. It’s quite a shame Emily doesn’t love him, and never will. He’s perfect boyfriend material; Emily chuckles to herself as the realizes that’s the root of the issue. He’s perfect  _ boyfriend  _ material. And Emily was no longer interested in having a  _ boyfriend.  _

 

“It’s gotta be somewhere around here. I could’ve sworn I grabbed everything, I’m sorry if I missed one of the bags, Em.” Matt’s eyes were filled with guilt, and Emily began chewing her lip, realizing it’s now or never.

 

“Matt, I didn’t bring you out here to look for luggage. That was just an excuse.” Emily started, gaze fixed on the ground. Matt’s eyebrows knit together, and realization dawned on his face.

 

“You’re breaking up with me.” Matt beat her to the point. Emily chanced a look at his face; There wasn’t a trace of anger, only confusion and hurt swirled in those deep brown eyes. Emily knows he deserves to know why, and she sucked in a deep breath, ready to admit something to him that Emily hasn’t even been able to admit to herself.

 

“I’m gay, Matt.” Emily blurted, and Matt, aside from his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline, had a passive, open look on his face as he waited for her to say more. “I’m sorry, it wasn’t fair for me to string you along even though I knew our relationship wasn’t going anywhere. I just, I haven’t been able to face the truth, and-” Emily was talking very fast, her gaze fixed back on the ground, and was cut off by Matt’s large arms wrapping around her. Emily prided herself on her “stone cold bitch” status among her friends, and naturally stiffened in Matt’s embrace. But as he began to rub her back soothingly, Emily relaxed, sinking into Matt’s bear hug. 

 

“It’s ok, Em. I’m not mad or anything, I understand why you did it.” Matt murmured into her hair and Emily felt tension leave her body she didn’t even know was there. “Also, I don’t know if you’re ready to talk about it or not, but I’m sure Sam would be glad to talk to you about, uhm, stuff.” Matt finished awkwardly and Emily withdrew from Matt’s embrace, a rare real smile spreading across her face.

 

“I’ve actually already talked to Sam. I kinda had a thing for her for a few months before the twins disappeared, actually. I think my feelings were just based off the fact that she’s the only lesbian I know, other than myself that is.” Emily bit her lip, thinking about how many times she had barged into Sam’s house, unannounced, and peppered her with questions about sexuality. She also remembered how patient and understanding Sam was, the blonde would answer each of Emily’s questions, no matter how awkward, thoughtfully and truthfully. In the year since the twins disappeared, Sam and Emily’s meetings became more frequent, not only as a chance for Emily to talk about her pent up gay feelings, but for both of them to just sit in the comfortable silence of each others presences, or to distract each other from the pain of possibly being partly responsible for the deaths of two of their friends. Emily blushed as she remembered some of their “distraction” tactics, but Matt needn’t know about that. Only one person besides Sam and Emily herself knew about that, and that’s one person too many in both of the girl’s opinions. Matt raised his eyebrows at Emily’s present blush and her admission, surprise dawning on his features.

 

“So THAT’S why you were always so obsessed with Sam’s love life.” Matt teased, and Emily smacked his shoulder, trying to hide her smile behind a playful pout as the duo began to walk back towards the lodge, now possibly closer than they were when they were dating.

 

 

* * *

 

Once Beth had confirmed at indeed all 8 of her friends had returned to the mountain, she circle around back towards the lodge entrance. Beth ducked down, moving surprisingly stealthily for someone decked out in heavy winter clothing, being trailed by a large white wolf dog. Beth waved a hand dismissively at the alpha female, who just huffed stubbornly at her. Mariposa, Mari for short, had more personality than the entire rest of her pack combined. If she wasn’t covered in fur and walking on all fours, Beth would swear she’s a human in disguise. But Mari had also saved Beth’s life several times. The she-wolf’s senses are incredibly attuned to wendigos; she could smell one coming from quite a long distance away, so as irritated as Beth was that the headstrong animal had followed her despite her orders, Beth realized it was probably for the best. As she approached the front entrance, Beth heard soft voices, and as she got closer, she could decipher two figures sitting in the front steps, huddled close together.

 

“Sam. Sam, honey, look at me.” Ashley’s soft voice wafted to meet Beth’s ears as the redhead tipped Sam’s face towards her own. With her arm around Sam’s shoulders and hand tipping Sam’s face in such an intimate manner, Beth’s gaze hardened into a glare at the soft-spoken red haired girl. Beth always thought Ashley was head over heels for Chris, but the look she was giving Sam gave Beth some very gay vibes. Their tones had lowered, putting Beth out of earshot, and Beth swore irritably. When Chris opened the door and began a playful, sarcastic banter with Sam, Beth couldn’t help her smile; oh, how she missed that. How much fun they all had together. But then, they had to be cruel idiots to the person that matters most to Beth in this world. Beth felt her lightening mood descend back into full dark, no stars as her very least favorite person showed up; Mike Munroe, with the close runner up for the #1 Asshat title, Jessica Riley on his arm.  _ Great, the Douchey Duo is here.  _ Beth thought to herself dryly, and Mari let out a soft growl from her place at Beth’s side. Beth grinned at the animal, who looked up at her and seemed to grin back.

 

“Good girl, Mari.” Beth whispered, gently stroking her thick, white pelt as she watched Mike and Jess walk inside, followed about 2 minutes later by Emily and Matt. After everybody was accounted for and inside the lodge, Beth crept closer, approaching a window that was slightly ajar and looked into the living room, where everybody was gathered. Beth could feel the thick tension even from where she stood, outside the lodge. Emily looked uncomfortable, shooting fleeting glances at Jess and Mike, who were getting quite cosy on the very appropriately name loveseat. Ashley was fiddling with her hands, no doubt wondering whether she should show the group Beth’s necklace. Matt looked the most relaxed, but, nonetheless, he hovered protectively around Emily. Josh was engaged in some sort of “private” conversation with Chris in one of the farthest corners from Beth’s window, making it impossible to figure out exactly what they were talking about. Sam was seated on the couch, her brow furrowed, lost in thought. Beth felt that familiar, long absent spark upon seeing Sam again. Beth pretty much resigned herself to the more than probable chance that she would never see the green eyed bombshell again, so she smothered her festering feelings for the girl. Good to know that a year of hard work was all but demolished with one glance at Sam. Beth was distracted from her pining by Mari’s low, resonating growl. Beth looked at her, and noticed the white wolf had gone completely rigid, her fur stood on end along her spine, her tail stuck straight up, and her ears were shoved forwards in a clear show of dominance. Beth relaxed slightly. Mari had a very specific reaction when wendigos are nigh, and this wasn’t it. Her dominant stance usually meant that she caught scent of a lone wolf encroaching on her territory. “Go on, girl. Go get ‘em.” Beth encouraged quietly, and Mari turned tail and fled, disappearing into the gloomy forest. Beth refocused her attention to her friends, unsurprised that the tension seemed to have finally gotten to them all. It was times like these Beth really wished she had some popcorn, because this was gonna be quite the show.

 

 

* * *

 

Sam had a really bad feeling about this weekend get together; and her bad feeling was being proven more true by the minute. Sam pretended not to feel the tension in the room skyrocket when Emily and Matt got to the lodge, or that she could practically feel the temperature plummet from how much ice resided in Emily’s glare towards Mike. Sam sighed, rubbing her temples. If Emily pissed Mike off, Sam had no doubt what Mike would do in response, and Sam really didn’t want the weekend to start off with everyone tearing each other apart. But defending Emily would only add more fuel to Mike’s revenge fire, so Sam told herself she would just stay the hell out of it and hope for the best. Sam could see Emily just itching to give Mike a piece of her mind. Her gaze flickered to meet Sam’s, and Sam shook her head discreetly, hoping Em could take a hint. But, who is she kidding, confrontation is probably the one thing Emily loves more than designer clothing, so Sam wasn’t surprised in the least when she heard Emily’s first targeted barb.

 

“If you two are quite done sucking each other’s souls out.” Emily snapped, glaring so hard at Mike Sam was surprised there weren’t two holes burned in his forehead. Jess broke her liplock with Mike and twisted her body to face Emily without leaving Mike’s lap. Sam cringed, as she knew this would just piss Em off more. Boy, she couldn’t have been more right if she tried.

 

“The fuck is your problem, Em?  _ You _ dumped him, I don’t even know why you care.” Jess retorted, and Emily took several steps closer, fury evident on her face.

 

“Why do I care? Oh, I don’t know, maybe the sight of you two attempting swallow each other’s tongues makes me want to bleach my eyeballs.” Emily sneered, and Jess swung her legs off Mike and stood up, standing face to face with the furious girl.

 

“Someone sounds jealous. You just wish you had something with Matt as hot as what I have with Mike.” Jess barbed, a triumphant smirk gracing her features. Emily opened her mouth to retort when suddenly Mike snorted in laughter. Sam sat rigid, eyes sliding to look at Emily’s face. To her credit, Emily looked completely unaffected by Mike’s chuckle, but Sam knows her well enough to realize her silence is the equivalent of her breaking down and sobbing.

 

“Jess, babe, trust me, Emily has something hot alright. But not with Matt.” Mike pitched in, face twisted into a cruel smirk. The silence in the room was deafening, and Sam chanced a look at Matt’s face, which is where the rest of the eyes in the room had also drifted to. Matt looked… surprisingly unaffected. His only reaction was narrowing his eyes in a pointed glare at Mike. 

 

“Seriously, Mike? What the fuck are you trying to say?” Emily challenged, stepping closer to him with confidence Sam knows is super fake, but it looks real enough for Mike to falter a bit, looking a bit unsure of himself. But, as soon as it left, it was back, that cruel, knowing smirk. Sam sighed, resigned.  _ Dammit, Em, why did you have to goad him? _

 

“Oh, just that you’ve been fucking Sam behind Matt’s back for months.” Mike spoke casually, but the victory in his eyes was plain to see. Gasps echoed across the room, and, this time, all eyes locked on Sam. Emily was staring at Mike still, at a loss for words.  _ Oh my God, she didn’t think he would do it. _ Sam’s fury reached a fever pitch at the look of horror and despair on Emily’s face.

 

“Mike, you walking pillar of testosterone, that’s not your fucking secret to share.” Sam snarled, rising to her feet and stepping uncomfortably close to Mike. Sam may be tiny, but she was a force of nature nonetheless, and she was not afraid to slug Mike for outing her friend. Mike furrowed his brows, confused at what she said for a minute, before it dawned on him; he looked towards Emily just in time to see a single tear escape her watery eyes before she turned and ran out of the room. Matt flexed his shoulders like he wanted to beat Mike into a pulp, but is loyalty to his friend came first, and he gave Mike one last glare before running after Emily. The room was silent once more, all eyes on Sam and Mike.

 

“What the fuck, Mike?! How could you do that to Em?” it was Jess who first broke the silence, surprising everybody. Not 2 minutes ago Jess was at Emily’s throat, so sometimes it was easy for Sam to forget that Jess and Emily were once inseparable. Mike looked at a loss for words, the victory in his eyes replaced with guilt. As much as it pained Sam to admit, Mike wasn’t  _ that  _ much of a douche. He probably wasn’t thinking about anything other than the fact that Emily was cheating on Matt, he probably didn’t even think much on the fact that Sam is a girl. “Get the hell out.” Jess snarled. Mike looked bewildered; but Jess didn’t look like she was going to back down. “I don’t care where you go, but I’m going to close my eyes and count to 5, and when I open them you better not be here.” Sure enough, Jess closed her eyes, and began to count. Mike left the room without a word to anyone else, ascending the stairs two steps at a time. When Jess opened her eyes, she surveyed the room carefully, to make sure Mike wasn’t just hiding behind the sofa or anything stupid like that, before sitting back down on the loveseat, holding her head in her hands. Oppressive silence descended back on the five remaining friends, until Josh cleared his throat and walked to the center of the room.

 

“Ok, so as much as I despise what Mike did, I gotta ask; is this juicy piece of sapphic gossip in fact the truth?” Josh held up his hands in an innocent gesture, but his mouth was twisted into a leering grin. Jess was giving Sam a really strange look that the shorter blonde girl couldn’t decipher, and the rest of the room was looking at Sam expectantly.  _ Ah, fuck it. _

 

“Yes, me and Em have been fucking. Wipe that leer off your face, Washington, or I’ll do it for you.” Sam didn’t even have to look at Josh to know that smirk dropped from his face in record time. “Mike may or may not have caught me and Em in a rather  _ complicated  _ position when he barged into my apartment unannounced a month or so back.” Sam gritted out, eyes flickering back to Jess. Jess’s eyes narrowed at her- was that  _ jealousy? _

 

“So, what, were the two of you in some secret relationship you didn’t bother to tell your friends about?” Jess’s tone was biting, and Sam fixed her with a puzzled stare. 

 

“No, nothing like that. What me and Em have is purely physical.” Sam answered truthfully. Josh wolf whistled, and Sam simply rolled her eyes. Jess looked even more unsettled by that fact, however, and without warning, the blonde girl stood up and left the room. Sam stared at her retreating form, startled.  _ God, what the hell happened to us? We all used to be such good friends. Now look at us. _

 

“I would pay to see that, Sammy. Two of the hottest chicks in my friend group going down on each other, man that’s a fantasy come to life.” Josh seemed to not notice Jess leaving, probably too caught up trying to conjure up a mental image. Josh opened his mouth, probably to start on more sapphic innuendo, when a loud crash, like shattering glass, echoed through the house. The remaining group of friends in the living room jumped, Sam looked around for something she could use as a weapon, Josh froze in place, and Ashley practically plastered herself to Chris’s side. Sam grabbed one of the candlestick holders on the table and began to walk towards the source of the noise. Rounding the corner, Sam couldn’t contain her yelp of surprise; the window above the kitchen counter was shattered, and laying on the floor of the kitchen, was a large white wolf. Its fur was stained with blood, and its breathing was coming out in short puffs. From the shards of glass poking out of its fur, it looked to Sam like something  _ threw  _ this poor animal through the window.

 

“Guys, get in here, you gotta see this.” Sam called out to her friends in the other room, cautiously kneeling beside the injured wolf. Her voice alerted the animal of her presence, and it lifted its head weakly, regarding her with agonized ice blue eyes. “Shh, it’s ok, I’ll take care of you. We’re gonna fix you.” Sam cooed, and the wolf whined in pain. Sam slowly reached out and ran her fingers through its soft white fur. From behind her, Sam could hear Josh swearing violently, and ordering Chris and Ashley to grab towels and their first aid kit. Sam ran her hand along the wolf’s side, feeling the taut, wiry muscle that lined her whole body. This was a powerful animal; which means whatever did this to her must’ve been an absolute beast. Sam’s eyes flickered up to the shattered window, eyebrows knitting together with worry. Chris came rushing back into the kitchen, hastily spreading a towel on the ground beside the wolf. Sam whispered soothing words as she carefully slid her arms underneath the animal and lifted her the short distance to the other towel. The wolf let out a keening whine as Sam lifted her up, and Sam felt her heart ache for the poor creature. The commotion had attracted the attention of the rest of their friends. The first people to poke their heads in the kitchen were Matt and Emily. Matt swore loudly and rushed over to inspect the window, and Emily’s hand flew over her mouth and she knelt down beside Sam, running her fingers through the wolf’s thick fur. Ashley ran into the kitchen, first aid kit in hand, with Jess close on her heels. Sam grabbed the first aid kit and rummaged around for the tools she needed. Triumphantly, Sam held up a pair of tweezers, rubbing alcohol, gauze, and medical sutures. 

 

“Everybody clear out, Sam and I have got this handled. Plus, too many people could stress her out.” Emily’s order was final, and since nobody really wanted to cross her, especially not now, the rest of their friends back out of the kitchen. Sam handed Emily the alcohol and gauze, and then set to work plucking the pieces of glass out of the wolf’s skin. The larger pieces she could pull out with her hands, but there were several thin slivers she had to pull out with tweezers. The wolf was surprisingly tolerant, which made Sam think she had human contact in the past. Most of the cuts were shallow enough that they only needed to be disinfected and some applied pressure, but some were deep and nasty, and Emily had to suture them shut. Despite the ordeal the dark haired girl had been subjected to in the past half an hour, her hands were unwavering. After all of the glass had been removed from the wolf’s skin, and Sam had conducted a thorough check to determine if she had any broken ribs, which, luckily, she didn’t. It was truly amazing the beast survived with nothing worse than a sprained paw. Sam wrapped the wolf’s paw, and the two girls sat back and admired their work. The wolf was now asleep, her flanks rising and falling evenly instead of the panicked huffs they had before. Sam studied Emily’s face closely.

 

“Hey, are you ok?” Sam spoke quietly, she knows Emily hates showing weakness. Emily bit her lip and shook her head. Sam scooted closer to her, wrapping her arms around Em’s petite frame. Emily buried her face in Sam’s neck, and Sam ran her fingers through Emily’s smooth, short hair soothingly. Emily lifted her face, staring into Sam’s eyes, and leaned forwards, catching her lips in a sweet kiss. Sam melted into the kiss, caressing Emily’s face with one hand. They were interrupted by somebody clearing his throat in the doorway. Sam broke the kiss and looked up, cringing when she saw Matt. But he just smiled at Sam warmly, even though he just walked in on her kissing his most likely now ex girlfriend.

 

“Sorry to interrupt, but the group came to a general consensus that it would be wise to keep the wolf in one of the guests rooms overnight so it doesn’t, y’know, eat us in the middle of the night. And Josh, Chris, and Mike are rummaging around in the basement for something they can use to cover that window for now so we don’t all freeze.” Matt gave them one last smile before scooping up the wolf easily and carrying her out of the room. Sam let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, and Emily laughed nervously, averting her gaze from Sam’s face.

 

“What do we do now?” Emily’s voice was a whisper, raspy from crying. Sam ran a thumb over her cheek affectionately. Both of them knew a romantic relationship wasn’t practical; with both of them being in love with different people (no matter how hopeless Sam’s love was). But Sam felt oddly at peace with Emily curled into her side.

 

“Whatever the hell we want.” Sam answered firmly, and Emily’s eyes sparkled, no doubt remembering the other time Sam said that to her.

 

 

* * *

 

235 days ago;

 

Sam was laying spread eagle on her bed, listening to music in her earbuds, when the door of her apartment flew open. Sam sighed; no intruder was desperate enough to break into Sam’s place, there was literally almost nothing of high monetary value anywhere. Which meant her intruder was more of the friendly variety. Sam sat up, pulling the earbuds out of her ears just as Emily rounded the corner. Emily was wearing a loose, off the shoulder top and yoga pants that hugged her curves generously. Sam found she had a hard time looking away from her friend’s legs. Emily sighed and flopped on Sam’s bed beside her.

 

“I don’t understand how you do it.” Emily spoke suddenly, and Sam tilts her head, regarding her friend quizzically.

 

“How I do what?” Sam inquired, rolling onto her stomach, her face hovering over her friend’s. Emily sighed again, averting her eyes from Sam’s. Was it Sam’s imagination, or was there a slight flush to her cheeks?

 

“Hide your feelings so effortlessly.” Sam froze as the implications of Emily’s words hit her; did she know about Beth? “I mean, I can tell you’re in pain. The same kind of pain I am in. The pains of unrequited love.” Emily admitted, yet another sigh escaping her lips. Sam’s shoulders sagged in relief; if Em wanted to believe she was hurting because she was in love with some straight girl, she could believe that.

 

“It’s Jess, isn’t it?” Sam asked softly, biting her lip as Emily simply nodded in response. It wasn’t really a question she needed an answer to; anyone with eyes could see the looks Emily sent Jess when she thought nobody was looking. How anger and jealousy flitted across her face when Jess would flirt and get flirted with. Emily’s dark eyes locked on Sam’s lips. Sometime during their conversation, Sam’s face had lowered closer to Emily’s, and the two girls were almost nose to nose. Suddenly, Emily closed the distance between their lips. The kiss was sloppy, hungry, and needy, but Sam couldn’t bring herself to care, reciprocating enthusiastically. Sam climbed on top of her taller friend, pinning her wrists above her head, before beginning to attack her neck with nips and kisses. Emily writhed, biting her lip in an obvious effort to suppress a moan. Sam withdrew and looked Emily in the eye. “It’s ok to want this. It’s ok to enjoy this. Hell, I think we both need this. But if you want me to stop, just tell me.” Sam looked into her friend’s conflicted eyes.

 

“Don’t stop.” Emily rasped, eyes pleading. Sam paused, feeling a stab of guilt for an indiscernible reason.  _ No, no I can’t think about Beth. That’s not fair to Emily. Fuck, come on Sam, focus.  _ Sam pressed her lips to Emily’s, a much softer, richer kiss. Emily managed to free one hand from Sam’s grip of steel, and immediately threaded her fingers through Sam’s hair and pulled. Sam moaned, and the heat from before returned. Sam sunk her teeth into the soft, sensitive skin on Emily’s collarbone, and sucked hard. Emily pulled harder on Sam’s hair a long suppressed moan escaping her lips. Sam removed her lips from Emily’s skin and eased off her shirt before removing her own. Emily’s eyes were locked on her breasts, and Sam chuckled.

 

“I think I just saw all of your doubts about your sexuality literally vanish before my eyes.” Sam laughed and Emily snorted, tearing her eyes away from Sam’s chest to look her in the eyes.

 

“Oh shut up, Sam.”

 

“Make me.”

 

“As you wish.”

 

2 hours later, Sam flopped back onto her bed, breaths coming in pants. Emily climbed up her body, pressing a sloppy kiss to the blonde’s lips before flopping on her back beside Sam.

 

“So, what do we do now?” Emily spoke quietly after a few minutes of silence as the two of them basked in their post orgasmic bliss. Sam turned her head, taking in the sight of the beautiful girl who was sprawled out beside her.

 

“Whatever the hell we want.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo yeah, canon has vanished for now, it might make some appearances later. We'll get Beth's view of the events of this chapter in the next one, as well as little tidbits from Mike's and Jess's points of view. This is still a majorly Beth/Sam with lightly less major Emily/Jess fan fiction, even though it doesn't particularly seem like it right now. It will, I promise. I was listening to sex by EDEN while writing this, and if any of you have listened to that song before, you will probably be able to see its influence lots, especially in that last segment. Things will start getting spooky next chapter (don't think i have forgotten about Josh's bitch ass prank because i haven't) Hope you guys have enjoyed so far, feel free to leave comments, suggestions, ask questions, anything, I'm open to anything. Also, i need feedback - should I make Climbing Class canon and have Chrashley be one sided, or keep it as planned?


	5. (i stressed time)

To say Beth was floored would be a very, very large understatement.  _ Emily?! Really??! _ Beth couldn’t stop the jealousy and anger coursing through her, so strong all she could hear was the blood roaring through her ears. Looking at Emily’s face, however, Beth sighed, deflating like a punctured balloon. The terror on her face was a clear sign that she had just been outed, and Beth couldn’t in good conscience envision pushing her off a cliff or roasting her like a turkey on Thanksgiving when she’s obviously in a lot of pain. Beth’s eyes locked on Sam’s face, searching for any sign of denial or discomfort. There was none.

 

“Yes, me and Em have been fucking. Wipe that leer off your face, Washington, or I’ll do it for you.” Beth felt her heart clench painfully at Sam’s brazen, unapologetic tone. When Jess asked if they were in a relationship, Beth felt herself leaning closer to the window, buzzing with anxious energy.  _ Why should I care? Sam has every right to move on with her life, it’s not fair of me to wish her to be single after a year of her thinking I’m dead.  _ Despite Beth’s quite logical counterargument, she still felt her shoulders sag with relief as Sam claimed it was “only physical.”  _ Get yourself together, Bethany.  _ Beth colded herself, shaking her head and backing a bit away from the window. A low, frantic growl rang out from behind Beth, capturing her attention. Mari had returned, and was now facing away from Beth, every fiber of her lithe, muscular body quivering with tension. Her tail was down, shoulders hunched, ears back. Beth slowly readied her flamethrower as Mari’s fur began to rise, as did the volume of her growling. A branch cracked, its sharp sound breaking the eerie silence that had descended upon the moonlit forest. Mari had gone silent, standing so still she very well could’ve been a statue. Beth waited, almost holding her breath, as she waited for the wendigo to reveal itself.  _ Come out come out wherever you are, beastie.  _ Beth heard the telltale crunch of fresh snow being crushed underfoot, and milky white eyes shone out from the darkness. But those eyes weren’t fixated on Beth; no, they stared right past her, through the window, and were locked on the moving figures within the lodge.  _ Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.  _ Beth watched as the wendigo leaped forwards, right past her, fingers curling around the windowsill. Beth had never seen this wendigo before; he looked gnarled and old, a telltale sign that he’s one of the twelve miner wendigos. Just as the creature’s fingers curled under the window, ready to pry it open, Beth made up her mind. She swung the flamethrower around, pointing at at the beast. His gaze snapped towards her, and he dropped from the window onto all fours, clicking his teeth at her. Time seemed to slow, as the wendigo leapt at her, a white streak flew out from the corner of Beth’s vision, blindsiding the wendigo mid-jump.  _ Mari, no! _ Beth could only watch as the wolf sunk her teeth into the wendigo’s leathery skin. The creature hissed furiously, spinning around so quickly he dislodged Mari from his flank. Beth was helpless; she couldn’t torch the beast, not with Mari in such close proximity. The creature rounded on Mari leaping towards her. The alpha jumped backwards, barely avoiding the wendigo’s dagger-like claws. The wendigo leaped again, this time his long fingers found purchase in Mari’s white fur, and he dragged the white wolf towards him. Beth fired a let of flames at the wendigo’s back, hoping desperately that he’d lose interest in Mari. The wendigo clicked his teeth angrily, whipping around to face her, Mari still pinned under his hands. Beth watched, horrified, as the wendigo picked up the white she wolf, and threw her through one of the windows of the lodge. Beth didn’t hesitate, she blasted the wendigo relentlessly, a stream of fire hitting it point blank in the face. It hissed and jumped at her; Beth rolled out of the way, unsheathing her machete and chopping at its fingers as they reached for her. The wendigo hissed at her again, backing away as she pointed the flamethrower at him again.  _ Yeah, you better run, you crusty ass undead motherfucker.  _ After the creature retreated into the thick underbrush, Beth crept towards the window Mari had been chucked through. It was higher up on the wall than the other window had been, and Beth couldn’t even attempt to see inside, so instead she pressed her back flat against the wall and listened. Beth felt her heart actually shatter when she heard Mari’s agonized whimpers. Sam’s voice cooed gently, her slightly raspy voice taking on a tone that was soothing as honey. Mari was no longer whining; Beth couldn’t blame her, Sam’s voice made some amount of stress leave her shoulders as well. Beth retreated from the window; her friends would take care of Mari, she knows they would. Right now, Beth had a rather crispy wendigo to hunt.

 

 

* * *

 

For Jess, time seemed to slow as she looked between Mike’s cruel smirk, Sam’s cold, furious glare, and Emily’s shocked, horrified expression. Her mind was reeling, replaying all of her recent interactions with Emily, trying to spot something she must’ve missed. Her friendship with Emily had deteriorated greatly since she started dating Mike, but even before that, Emily seemed more withdrawn, secretive. She would never agree to sleepovers with Jess anymore, and she would sometimes cancel her plans with Jess last minute with some really lame excuse. Jess always assumed the best of Emily; maybe something really did just come up? She didn’t know if she could face the fact that her best friend might be avoiding her. Now, as she looked at Emily’s crestfallen, teary-eyed face, Jess felt her heart throb painfully. The blonde wanted nothing more than to envelop Emily in a tight hug, and never let her go, but she stopped herself, an uneasy feeling making itself present in her mind, like a memory long forgotten. She felt like a terrible friend, for not sensing something was off, for not insisting on knowing what was going on with her friend whenever she’d get that distant look in her eyes. Now, Emily ran out of the room, Matt close on her heels, and Jess felt like she should go after her. But, once again, Jess stopped herself. There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, like she should be remembering something, but the memory was just out of her grasp. Jess didn’t know why Sam’s answer to her question made her as angry as it did; she should be relieved Emily and Sam weren’t in a real relationship, right?  _ Wait, why does that matter to me? _ Jess abruptly stood, ignoring Sam’s puzzled look, and walked down the hallway brusquely, opening the first unlocked door and slamming it behind her. Taking a deep breath, Jess slid down the door, closing her eyes and reaching for that niggling memory.

 

 

* * *

 

54 days ago;

 

“Come on, Em, we’re gonna be late!”Jess whined, banging on Emily’s door impatiently. It was 8:51, and Valerie Evans’s biggest, most hyped party of the year was at 9:00, and Jess would be damned before she missed a second of it.

 

“Calm your tits, Jess, we’re not going to be late.” Emily drawled, but her words didn’t register as Jess stared at her, mouth open. Sure, Jess was dressed great, a navy blue, sequined cocktail dress paired with black stilettos, her light blonde hair in a sleek high pony. But Emily was dressed impeccably, a high necked black cocktail dress that ended tantalizingly high on her thighs, with triangular cutouts on each side and a large ovular cutout on the back that reached very low on her back. On the left side of her head, her hair was braided in a cornrow style braid, the rest of her hair falling sleek and shiny across the right side of her face. “You see something you like?” Emily smirked, biting her bottom lip coated in metallic gold lipstick.

 

“I’m not sure if I want to slap you for upstaging me or kiss you because you’re fricking beautiful!” Jess exclaimed, throwing her arms around her dark haired friend. Emily tensed as she spoke, standing stock still as Jess hugged her. Jess pulled back, fixing Emily with a quizzical look. Emily offered a shaky smile, but her eyes were dark and unreadable. 

 

“Unless you want to be late…” Emily trailed off, and Jess shook off the odd exchange and practically dragged her best friend out the door.

 

“Boys will be drooling over both of us tonight, especially you, Em.” Jess remarked as they drove. Em bit her lip, that same odd look from earlier crossing her face. “Hey, you ok?” Jess’s eyebrows knit in concern as she turned to look at her friend, car now safely parked in front of the party house. People had already started to arrive, and Jess could hear the thumping music. Whatever had been bothering Emily before was gone without a trace by the time she turned to face Jess, the darkness in her eyes replaced with a mischievous spark.

 

“Come on, resident blonde bombshell, let’s go blow some minds.” Emily smirked, hopping out of the car and sashaying towards the party. The house was large, not Washington large, but large enough to host a large amount of people, liquor, and drugs. The party was already in full swing, booming music with people shouting out lyrics in their somehow already drunken states. Jess dragged Emily straight towards the “open bar” (aka the kitchen, filled to the brim with booze).

 

“Emily! Jess! Over here!” Sam called out. She was leaning on a wall just outside the kitchen, holding a red Solo cup filled with a noxious looking, muddy brown liquid. Emily’s eyes sparked with something Jessica couldn’t pin down when she spotted Sam, and she quickly made her way over to the other blonde. Sam was casually gorgeous; her crop top, unbuttoned flannel, and black jean shorts flattering her curvy body in ways Jess would never understand. Whenever Jess puts on a flannel she looks like she just got back from cutting down a shit ton of trees. “Ash and Chris managed to convince Josh to come, and I think I saw Matt and Mike around here somewhere. Looks like we’re gonna have the full gang here tonight!” Sam’s enthusiasm faltered, and Jess could see pain flash in her blue green eyes; not the ‘full’ gang. Not without the Washington twins. Sam took a large gulp of whatever poisonous substance was in her cup, wincing as it went down.

 

“Easy there, Samantha. I just saw a linebacker go down after just a cup of that shit.” Mike, looking just as ruggedly handsome as ever, casually strolled over to their small huddle, with Matt in tow. Jess saw both Sam and Emily visibly stiffen; Emily had broken up with Mike a while ago, but it was probably still awkward for her. And Sam was still upset about The Incident.

 

“I can handle my liquor, thank you very much, Michael.” Sam snapped, and Mike took a step back, holding his hands out in front of him in the universal “don’t hit me please, I mean no harm” sign. Jess sighed, snagging a beer out of a nearby cooler and taking a long chug. Mike whistled, looking impressed, and Emily glared furiously at him.

 

“Damn, Jess, no offense, but I had you pegged as a lightweight.” Mike remarked, leaning closer to her. Jess knew it was wrong; this is her  _ best friend’s ex boyfriend _ , for fucks sake, if anyone’s off limits it’s him. But there was something about Mike that short circuited the logical side of Jessica’s brain.

 

“Oh I am a lightweight, hon, I just can’t wait to get this party started.” Jess’s voice slipped into her “sexy voice”, and she leaned in dangerously close to Mike’s face. Mike smirked, and offered his hand out to her.

 

“Jessica Riley, would you like to dance with me?” Mike’s smile was wolfish, and Jess felt a matching grin slide onto her face. Emily was looking between the two of them with disbelief written clearly on her face. Sam slung her arm over Emily’s shoulders, glaring daggers at both of them. But Jess already felt a buzz setting in, and wasn’t bothered in the slightest by her best friend’s fury.

 

“Only because you’re such a gentleman.” purred Jess. Emily’s glare burned holes into her head as she let Mike lead her to “the dance floor”, or the mosh pit that had accumulated in the center of the living room. Jessica threw back what was left of her beer and pressed herself against Mike, pressing her hips back into his. Mike’s calloused hands gripped her waist as Jess began swaying her hips to the beat, bringing her hands behind her head to wind her fingers through Mike’s hair. Jess closed her eyes, enjoying the warm feeling of Mike’s body against hers. When she opened them, Jess was met with quite the sight; Emily grinding on  _ Sam.  _ Jess’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as one of Sam’s hands drifted up Emily’s side, hovering dangerously close to her breasts, and Emily arched her back, reached back, fingers tangling in Sam’ hair, and pulling the shorter blonde’s face into her neck. The whole scene was strangely intimate, and extremely unlike Emily. Sure, Em had dirty danced with people before; mostly guys, but some girls, but she had never let them touch anything other than her waist. With Sam’s hands roaming all over her body and her nose nuzzling Emily’s neck, Jess could see that rule went right out the window. Also, all the girls Em danced with in the past had been straight; Emily claims dancing with a queer girl to attract a guy’s attention is too cruel. So to see her dancing with Sam, a very, very open lesbian, was mind blowing to Jess on many levels.

 

“Damn, Em’s getting cozy. Not like her to lead a girl on like that. I hope Sam doesn’t get pissed at her when she ultimately rejects her.” Mike’s rumbling voice broke Jess out of her train of thought, and Jess nodded, not being able to shake the odd feeling from her chest. When she looked towards the couple again, her eyes met Emily’s. The dark haired girl’s eyes were clear and focused, showing no sign of drunkenness, and they bored into Jess’s, almost challengingly. Emily only broke eye contact when Sam tilted her head and whispered something into her ear, before taking her hand and leading her back in the direction of the kitchen. Jess cast the image of her best friend out of her mind and continued to dance with Mike. About an hour of beer and drunken dancing later, Jess was positively hammered, hanging off of Mike like he was her lifeline. They stumbled into the kitchen, and actually ran into Sam and Emily. Jess blinked rapidly, convinced her drunken mind was playing a trick on her; there’s no fucking way that Emily was sitting on the kitchen counter, with Sam standing between her legs, attacking her neck with rough kisses. There was  _ no way  _ that Emily’s fingers were buried in Sam’s hair, and her head was tilted back, eyes fluttering in ecstasy. No, no, that whole situation was just a cruel little trick Jess’s mind was playing on her after what she witnessed earlier. Mike was so drunk he stumbled right past them, grabbing another beer for both Jess and himself, then roughly dragged her back out to the living room. Jess cast one more look towards that kitchen counter, but Sam and Emily were gone.  _ They’re gone because they were never there, idiot. You’re drunk, and that was just a figment of your imagination.  _ Jessica bertated herself, taking a large swig of beer, and plastering herself back onto Mike.

 

 

* * *

 

When Jessica woke up the next morning, safely in her own bed, nursing a bitch of a hangover, she found Emily curled up on her couch, and Sam in her kitchen, making breakfast. Jessica furrowed her eyebrows, confused. The last night was a mostly unintelligible blur for her, and the sight of Sam in her kitchen, making breakfast like that was a completely normal thing, was a bit disconcerting.

 

“Hey, Jess. Hope you don’t mind me being here. Em needed help getting you home, you blacked out, and Mike was somehow still coherent enough to bring you to us so we could take you home. By the time we got here, I was so tired and still a bit tipsy so I decided it would be safest to stay here. I’m sorry if I overstepped or anything.” Jess smiled, shaking her head.

 

“Of course not, Sammy. Thank you. I literally remember almost nothing from last night. Like I remember agreeing to dance with Mike… Fuck! I agreed to dance with Mike!” Jess groaned, slapping a palm against her forehead and casting a glance at Emily’s sleeping form. “I’m a terrible best friend.” Jess mumbled sadly, and Sam abandoned her omelet and walked over to Jess.

 

“Hey, it’s ok. We can’t help how we feel, alright. Nobody knows that better than me.” Sam’s voice had a very pained tone, and her eyes filled with sadness. Jess was taken aback; Sam always seemed like an optimist to Jess, always trying to make everybody else feel better. But that pain in her eyes ran deep, and Jess couldn’t help but wonder what it is that caused such a deep hurt in this good tempered girl. Jess felt sick to her stomach as she realized it might have something to do with losing two of her best friends on the same night. “If you have feelings for Mike, you have to tell Emily. You deserve to be happy and if Mike makes you happy, then I’m sure Emily would be supportive, as long as you tell her how you feel and don’t go behind her back.” The darkness in Sam’s blue green eyes had faded, replaced with her usual serenity. Jess blinked, getting mental whiplash from Sam’s sudden mood change, but nodded nonetheless. Jess wasn’t quite sure what she felt for Mike yet, but as soon as she figured it out, she would tell Em.

 

 

* * *

 

Present day;

 

_ Perfect. Fucking perfect.  _ Beth was muttering angrily to herself as she followed the trail of charred skin flakes back towards the Sanatorium. The miner wendigos seemed to be drawn to the Sanatorium, which made trapping them much, much easier for Beth. But Beth was just itching to get back to the lodge. Leaving her friends alone there made her a bit anxious; they were very ill equipped to fend off a wendigo attack, they probably had a few shotguns laying around somewhere, and they had Mari, although she was injured, but they most likely wouldn’t survive a wendigo encounter. Especially not if that wendigo happened to be her sister. Beth’s train of thought was cut off by a wendigo shriek. Beth sped up her pace, breaking through the underbrush and speeding up the winding path to the Sanatorium. The crispy creature was perched on the top step of the stairs leading to the main entrance. Half of its face, neck, and chest were charred and flaking, and the creature looked less than pleased about it, shaking its head rapidly, causing flakes to fly off in all directions. Beth fired a plume of flame to catch its attention, grinning bitterly as the wendigo screeched furiously at her, and leaped forwards.

 

 

* * *

 

“Ok what the fuck.” Mike was the first one to break the silence that descended upon the group of now shaken up teenagers after the ghastly screech ripped through the air. The scream sounded oddly human, and Sam felt her hair stand on end, remembering keenly the scream she heard that night, 1 year ago. 

 

“Guys, I have something to tell you.” Ashley spoke tentatively, eyes darting nervously. Slowly, she withdrew the necklace from her pocket and held it up for all to see. Josh blanched bone white, Jess squeaked, Mike and Matt both swore quietly, and Emily bit her lip, staring at the blood crusted on the corner of the pendant with horror in her eyes. “Someone was watching me when I first got here. I kept seeing him duck into the shadows. When I went to investigate, I saw boot prints, and this necklace was tangled on a bush. I think he left it there for me to find. Do you think… do you think he could be responsible for Hannah and Beth’s disappearance?” It was like the air was sucked right out of the room. Mike was the first to recover, standing up and walking purposefully over to a quite shell-shocked Josh.

 

“Where does your dad keep your hunting rifles? You gotta have something like that around here.” Mike shook Josh’s shoulders until he looked at him.

 

“What are you going to do, Mike?” Jess’s tone was filled with terror, and Sam couldn’t blame her. The determination in Mike’s eyes was downright scary, and now he was asking for a gun? The idiot is gonna get himself killed.

 

“I’m gonna find that sick fuck, and I’m gonna make him confess, then I’m gonna… I don’t know! Lock him up somewhere and wait till morning to call the authorities! If he is responsible for Hannah and Beth, he can’t just get off scot-free. That fucker has to pay.” Mike’s eyes were blazing, and Matt stood up as well.

 

“I’ll go with you. You’re gonna need back-up, especially since this guy probably knows these woods like the back of his hand and has a great advantage.” Matt added, and Mike nodded, respect glinting in his eyes.

 

“You guys can’t be serious!” Emily cried out incredulously, speaking for the first time since curling herself into Sam’s side on the sofa.

 

“Listen, I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t go a single day where I don’t regret what happened last year. Finding the motherfucker that could be responsible for their deaths and bringing him to justice is the very least I can do. I’ll never forgive myself for what I did.” Sam could see the pain and regret in Mike’s eyes, and, for the first time, felt a pang of sympathy for him. Sam had no clue he tortured himself about his role in the prank. Matt was nodding along, his face a reflection of Mike’s. Sam knows Matt feels endlessly guilty about the prank, especially since she was pretty certain he was developing feelings for Hannah.

 

“There might be a shotgun at the little shed down the path a little. Where are you guys even gonna go to look?” Josh’s voice was quiet, and Sam could tell he was still trying to process everything.

 

“There’s an old Sanatorium somewhere around here. That sounds like a prime hideout spot for a possible murderer.” Chris pitched in, and Mike nodded resolutely, exchanging a look with Matt.

 

“Alright. Ok. Let’s do this.” Mike had a determined look in his eyes, and he turned to Josh again to ask him directions to the cabin. Everything seemed to happen so fast, and before Sam could even realize what was happening, Mike and Matt were gone, tracking a possible murderer. Another ghoulish shriek rang out, more distant this time, but still bone chilling. The remaining friends exchanged frightened looks, no doubt remembering the last time two of their friends headed out into the unforgiving winter night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a tragedy has occurred. i decided to replay until dawn. I was on the last chapter. everybody was alive. then the power went out. I wrote this chapter while mourning the loss of a perfect run, which is why it took a bit longer. besides that, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's sort of a bridge chapter (I apologize i didn't deliver on Mike's POV, but we'll get that next chapter) and next chapter will certainly be interesting


	6. get fucked up

Not long after Mike and Matt had found a shotgun and an axe in the shed as Josh promised, they heard another shriek. 

 

“I hate to be that person, but maybe we should follow the creepy screaming?” suggested Matt in a tone that suggested he really hoped Mike would shoot down his idea. But Mike just nodded, having the same idea himself. Matt grimaced and gripped his axe tighter, following Mike’s lead. About 10 minutes passed in comfortable silence, the two guys taking silent comfort in each other’s presences as they trekked through the dark, gloomy woods.

 

“Hey, as much as I think what you did to Emily was totally cruel and uncalled for, I think what you’re doing right now is noble.” Matt broke the silence, and Mike winced as he remembered the heartbroken look on Em’s face.

 

“I don’t expect you to believe me, but I genuinely didn’t think about outing her. Like, we’re all so used to, like, Sam being so open about her sexuality, I really didn’t think about my words hurting her in that way. I was only going to reveal that she was cheating on you, which was still a dick move. I’m sorry, man, I got caught up in the moment.” Mike cast his gaze down ruefully, and Matt just nodded at him.

 

“As long as Em’s happy. I’m not going to pretend that she didn’t hurt me, but I really can’t be mad at her. She can’t control how she feels.” Matt simply shrugged, and Mike gazed at him, a little unnerved at how well he was taking the whole “my girlfriend dumped me because she’s gay for my friend” situation. As Mike opened his mouth to ask another question, Matt held up a hand, then pointed forward. Standing before them, was a sprawling, dilapidated monster of a building.

 

“So this must be the Sanatorium. Jesus fuck this place is creepy as shit.” Mike’s voice was lowered to a whisper, and he crept forward, staying close to the chain link fence surrounding the building. Another shriek cut through the deadly silence of the night, this time so close it could’ve been right in their ears. Stopping, the two boys looked through the chain link fence. What they saw, well, it was certainly not what they were expecting. Matt blanched, eyes bugging out of his head, unable to take his eyes off of the scene before him. Mike let off a series of curse words that would put even the grumpiest sailor to shame. On the other side of the fence, a sinewy, pale, humanoid creature scuttled along the slow-blanketed ground. Half of its upper body looked charred, and it didn’t take the boys long to realize why. A heavily clothed figure wielding a goddamn  _ flamethrower _ stood a ways away from the monster, blasting it with fire. The monster screamed again, and jumped through the flames, tackling the figure. A furious screech echoed from the other side of the boys, and they slowly turned to face another one of the pale monsters creeping forwards, this one on their side of the fence.  _ Holy shit, we’re all gonna die up here. _

 

 

* * *

 

Beth blasted the wendigo relentlessly, but the stubborn creature refused to move any closer to the Sanatorium.  _ Fuck, I’m gonna have to kill this thing. _ Beth huffed, and pressed down harder on the trigger, the jet of flame growing larger. The wendigo screamed again, and jumped. Through the fire. Right at her. Beth barely had time to take a step back before the wendigo was on top of her. It smelled like both rotting and burning flesh, and the combination made Beth want to hurl, but at the moment she had to focus on surviving. The creature’s claws dug into her shoulders, and Beth bit her lip to contain a scream, scrambling to unsheath her machete. A more powerful wendigo screech drew both Beth’s and the other wendigo’s attention, and Beth felt her blood run cold; Mike and Matt stood, backs pressed against the chain link fence, as the largest wendigo of them all crept towards them. Hannah. Fueled by new determination, Beth unsheathed her machete, and sliced clean through the wendigo’s nails. The wendigo screamed and leaped back, and Beth wasted no time, lining up the nozzle and blasting the wendigo straight on. The beast shrieked, clawing at itself, before collapsing on the ground, whole body on fire. The wendigo spirit released into the air, shrieking. That commotion drew Hannah’s attention, and she leaped right over the two boys to perch on the top of the fence. Beth stood up, and fired a small plume of flame, a warning to the beast.  _ Oh Hannah. This ends now. _

 

 

* * *

 

Matt barely dared to breathe as the monster drew closer, so close Matt could smell the rotting flesh on its breath, and see the strips of meat caught between its jagged teeth. The creature looked right past them, eyes fixed on the flamethrower-toting figure. As it passed Matt, its shoulder glanced off of Matt’s cheekbone, and Matt almost forgot how to breathe; a butterfly tattoo. The monster had a butterfly tattoo on its shoulder.  _ Hannah? _ The figure fired a warning blast, the red and orange flame burning bright. The creature screamed at them. The other creature that the figure had been fighting when they got there was nothing more than a pile of ashes by their feet now, and that seemed to infuriate this creature. Mike caught Matt’s gaze, a determined expression on his face. Matt gave him a tiny head shake trying desperately to dissuade him from whatever stupid thing he was about to do, but it was too late.

 

“Yo, Walking Dead reject, over here asshole!” Mike roared, firing his shotgun at the monster. It’s pale head whipped around, and its scream was cut off by the shot, and it was blown backwards, off the fence, to land a few feet away from the figure. To both of the boys horrors, it got right the fuck back up, like it hadn’t just been shot at pretty close range by a goddamn shotgun. It stood up, shrieked at them, and then it was engulfed by flames. The figure blasted the creature, and it screamed and screamed, its scream taking on a more human tone by the minute.

 

“Stop! Please! You’re hurting me!” screamed Hannah’s voice, but out of this creature’s mouth. The figure faltered, and that was all the time the monster needed to leap at them, claws extended. The figure jumped back, whipping a machete out of their belt and slashing at its fingers. The creature skidded to a stop and rounded on the figure again, leaping. This time it was intercepted by a black blur, flying out of the shadows. The blur turned out to be a wolf, a large one at that, whose teeth were latched into the creature’s skinny waistline. The monster looked actually annoyed at the wolf’s antics, ripping it off of its side and tossing it like a ragdoll at the Sanatorium. The wolf hit a pillar with a high pitched yelp and a sickening crack, and slid to the ground, unmoving. The monster shrieked triumphantly and stepped closer to the flamethrower wielding stranger again. Then, it stopped, tilted its head, and before Matt could even comprehend what was happening, leaped over the fence and bounded back into the forest. The stranger watched it leave, before their head turned to face the boys.

 

“What the fuck was that thing?” screamed Mike, running over to the opening of the gate and walking inside. Matt followed, although a bit apprehensive this time. The stranger was wielding a flamethrower, and had just killed one of those things after all. The stranger paid Mike’s question no mind, instead turning and approaching the broken-looking wolf, who was shifting slightly, keening in pain. The stranger knelt next to the wolf, and stroked its head. The wolf’s breaths were wheezy, and Matt could see blood pooling under its body. The wolf let out one last sigh, and the light left its eyes. The stranger’s head drooped, and they stood up, finally turning to face the boys.

 

“Was… was that Hannah?” Matt asked meekly. He half didn’t expect an answer; the stranger didn’t seem particularly sociable, so he was surprised when they nodded.

 

“No. Nope. Not fucking happening. That thing is  _ not  _ Hannah. No, you’re a murderer! Tell me, what did you do with their bodies, huh?! Feed them to your pet wolves?!” Mike screamed at the stranger, pointing the shotgun at them. The stranger stepped closer, so that the shotgun’s barrel was pressed against their forehead. Then, they took their goggles off, and pulled the bandana down around their neck.

 

“Shoot me, Michael, you’ll be doing me a favor.” Beth’s voice was rougher than Matt remembered, her face was smeared with dirt, ash, and blood, but her eyes were the same as always; dark and brooding. Mike’s eyes boggled, and Matt barely stopped himself from yelling in surprise. Beth’s gloved hands wrapped around the barrel of the shotgun and she wrenched it out of Mike’s grasp easily, letting it clatter to the ground unceremoniously. “You never should’ve come back here.” Beth’s voice was dark, and her gaze bored into Matt’s soul as she stared at him. Matt couldn’t imagine the horrors the girl had been subjected through over the course of a year, alone in these dark woods, with only wolves as company, and some weird, mythological beasts trying to kill her at every turn.

 

“Beth?! How…?” Mike was clearly at a loss, gaping at her like a fish. Beth rolled her eyes irritably.

 

“Close your mouth, Mike, ‘flabbergasted’ is not a good look on you.” Beth deadpanned, pushing the hood off her head (Matt was surprised to see she still wore her beanie, however bloodstained and dirty it was), and turning to walk into the Sanatorium. A far off shriek echoed from the woods, and Mike and Matt both scrambled to follow her, not wanting to be left outside with the monsters. Matt barely had time to ogle the crumbling interior of the entryway before Beth pulled a security card out of her jacket pocket and swiped it on a reader on a wall, opening the doors labeled CHAPEL. The chapel was a cavernous room, and it was it the same state of decay as the rest of the building. Nonetheless, Beth walked over to one of the cushioned chairs in the center of the room and shrugged off her jackets. With the three heavy layers gone, Matt was met with a painful sight; Beth’s sweater, the same one she wore they day she’d disappeared, was shredded around the shoulders, and soaked with fresh blood. Beth fixed both of the guys with a cold glare before pulling the sweater over her head, leaving her just standing in her beanie, bra and heavy snow pants and boots. Matt sucked in a breath, and he heard Mike curse quietly at the sight of Beth’s bare abdomen. Her body was covered in scars, and coated in dirt, ash, and blood. Beth’s abs were pronounced, and her back and shoulders rippled with muscle when she rolled her shoulders back. A year of monster hunting while toting a flamethrower could do that to a person, Matt supposed. But that wasn’t the thing that attracted Matt’s attention. There were fresh claw marks on both of Beth’s shoulders, blood trickling from each of the puncture wounds lazily, and there was a significantly deeper looking cut slashed across Beth’s collarbone that was bleeding profusely.

 

“Oh my God you’re hurt.” Matt rushed over to her, gently touching the side of her shoulder. Beth jerked away from his touch, wincing as her sudden movement irritated her wounds more.

 

“I’ll be fine. Unlike you idiots if you don’t get the fuck off this mountain while you still can.” Beth snarled, eyes blazing. Matt took a step back, unnerved by the feral look in her dark eyes. “Next time, Munroe, if you see a wendigo, especially  _ that  _ wendigo, don’t fucking yell at it, you sentient sack of mincemeat.” Beth’s tone was biting as she slipped her sweater back on and only one of her fur trim jackets back on over it. Mike furrowed his eyebrows at Beth’s rather inventive insult, and Matt cast his eyes at the ground, biting back a grin.  _ Sentient sack of mincemeat. This is why Beth and Emily used to get along so well. _

 

“What the hell’s a wendigo?” Mike asked, and Beth sighed irritably.

 

“That thing that you insulted right before it killed my wolf.” Beth snarked, grief flashing in her eyes as she mentioned her wolf.

 

“Why did it sound like Hannah then?” Mike questioned, and Beth visibly stiffened.

 

“They can mimic humans perfectly.” Beth gritted out, but from the grief-stricken look in her eyes, Matt could tell that wasn’t the whole story.

 

“Beth, it had Hannah’s tattoo.” Matt added softly, and Beth sighed, the fight leaving her body.

 

“Wendigos are the curse of this mountain. Should any human resort to cannibalism in these mountains, the wendigo spirit will possess and change their bodies into mindless monstrosities that live in a constant state of hunger for flesh.” Beth’s eyes were downcast, and Matt felt dread building in the pit of his stomach. “That night, we were chased by a wendigo. Right off a cliff. I tried to hold on, and a man tried to save us. But he ended up falling with us. There are mines that run underneath us, they connect the Sanatorium and the lodge, and they are extremely unsafe. That’s where we ended up. The impact killed the man, and he shielded me from harm. I thought Hannah was dead. So I took the guy’s flamethrower and tried to find my way out of the mines. It wasn’t until I came back for Hannah’s body that I found out she was alive; if you could call it that. She had already started the transformation, her hunger had driven her to eat the remains of the mystery man. I tried to kill her there, but she escaped. And now, she’s the strongest, nastiest mendigo I have ever encountered.” Beth finished sadly. Her eyes were weary and sad, showing the toll of having to hunt her own twin sister for a year. “I couldn’t leave her, I just couldn’t leave, I have to put her out of her misery. I can’t just leave her to suffer. I’m not leaving until one of us is dead; preferably her, but, at this point, I’d welcome death.” Matt’s heart broke at the dull, emotionless tone of her voice.

 

“Oh Beth, I’m so sorry. I want to help you.” Matt spoke softly, and was met with Beth’s stony glare.

 

“The best way you can help me is by getting the hell off this mountain.” Beth snapped, and Matt withdrew again, frightened by the dark fury roiling behind her eyes.

 

“I’m sorry, Beth, About last year. I’m so, so sorry. I wish I hadn’t been a complete drunken idiot, and I think I speak for both Matt and everyone left at the lodge that we’re glad you’re alive. We’d also like you to stay that way. Please come back with us.” Mike begged. Beth stared him down, but Mike’s gaze didn’t waver.

 

“Ugh, fine. I’ll walk you guys back to the lodge, and accompany you until dawn. Then, you guys are gonna go home, and I’m gonna continue my hunt.” Beth’s tone was the same one she used to get when arguing with somebody; resolute and final. Nobody succeeded in talking Beth out of anything once she got this tone. Mike simply nodded, and Beth picked up her flamethrower, sliding the tanks back onto her back. As they headed out, Mike picked up his shotgun again.

 

“That won’t kill a wendigo, you know. As far as I know, only fire can kill wendigos. Their skin is almost impossible to pierce. Sometimes the wolves have been able to make dents, but never draw blood. Shotguns can blow them back and give you time, but nothing more.” Beth remarked as they trekked back through the woods. Mike looked at the weapon in his hands, significantly less sure of himself, and Matt could see Beth hiding a smirk. As they neared the lodge, a piercing scream ripped through the silent night; but this wasn’t a wendigo’s scream, this scream was all too human.

 

“That sounded like Jess…” Mike spoke in a hushed tone, worry creasing his brow. Beth stiffened, resolve burning in her dark gaze.

 

“Follow my lead. If you see a wendigo, freeze. They can’t see you if you stand completely still.” Beth whispered, before rushing towards the lodge, ready to face the danger head on. Mike and Matt looked at each other, before following Beth into the eerily quiet and deserted lodge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, now they know. stay tuned for the rest of the group's reactions + Beth's reaction to Josh's bitch ass prank


	7. (forgetting timing)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a bit of not too graphic smut at the beginning, fair warning

Sam really only wanted to take a bath. Really. That was her goal, to just take a nice, hot, relaxing bath, and forget about all of the drama. But her plans took a dramatic turn towards very much not relaxing when Emily stepped into the bathroom, wearing only a towel, locking the door behind her, and dropping the towel. Sam, who was also clad in just a towel, was adjusting the water temperature when she heard the door shut and lock behind her.

 

“Samantha, baby, there’s certainly room for two in that tub.” Emily’s voice purred from behind Sam, and slim arms wrapped around Sam’s waist, and gently tugged her towel off. Sam smirked as she pressed her now bare back against Emily’s equally as bare front. Sam turned around and flipped them, pushing Emily down to a seated position on the side of the tub. Emily grinned, winding her fingers through Sam’s hair and pushing the blonde’s head down, between her legs. Sam wasted no time, immediately burying her face in the dark haired girl’s pussy. Emily bit her lip trying to contain her moans as Sam continued to lick and suck, but to no avail. After a particularly obscenely loud moan, Sam lifted her head and brought her face close to Emily’s.

 

“Hush, Em. Don’t make me shut you up myself.” Sam’s usually rough voice was even huskier was lust, and she pressed a quick kiss to Emily’s lips before returning to her place between her thighs. Emily shivered at Sam’s implication, feeling a rush of heat travel down her body.  _ Fuck Sam’s good at this. Why can’t I be in love with her?  _ Emily thought sadly, but her self-pity was cut off by Sam standing up and sliding into the now quite hot water. “Come in.” Sam ordered and Emily hastily slipped into the bath after her. Her body was throbbing with need, and the heat of Sam’s gaze made her squirm, rubbing her thighs together. Sam spread her legs and beckoned for Emily to come closer. Once she got close enough, Sam pulled her flush against her body. Emily felt one of Sam’s thighs spread her own, and Emily finally got the gist. Swiftly, Emily hooked one leg over one of Sam’s, and slid the other under Sam’s other leg, before sliding forward, pressing their cores together and bringing their lips together. Sam swallowed Emily’s moan with a hungry kiss, and began rolling her hips languidly into Emily’s. Emily rocked back and forth as well, moaning loudly as Sam began to press sloppy kisses down Emily’s neck. Sam’s hands cupped Emily’s ass, and she pressed Emily’s hips down on her own harder, throwing her head back and moaning. Emily took advantage of Sam’s unguarded neck and began to suck on her pulse point. Sam began to pant, kneading Emily’s ass and speeding up her hip thrusts. Emily stifled a scream as she reached her climax, burying her face in Sam’s neck. Sam’s thrusts slowed as she let Emily ride out her orgasm. Once Emily regained the ability to move, she slid off Sam’s lap, ignoring the blonde girl’s pout. Emily spread Sam’s legs out further, and slid two fingers inside her. She was met with no resistance, a sign of just how close Sam was. Sam jerked her hips towards Emily’s hands, but Emily pinned her hips back with her free hand. Inserting another finger, Emily began to pump her fingers at a quick pace. Sam was moaning unashamedly, fingers scrabbling for purchase on the slick walls of the tub. As Emily’s thumb slowly began to rub Sam’s clit, the brunette could feel Sam tighten around her, and her body quivered as she reached her climax. Emily continued her thrusts, allowing Sam to ride out her orgasm, before slipping her fingers out of the blonde. Sam lurched forwards and captured Emily’s lips is a lazy kiss, and Emily slid back onto Sam’s lap, reciprocating equally as lazily.

 

“Fuck, that was good.” Emily sighed contentedly, snuggling up closer to Sam. Sam’s arms wrapped around Emily’s waist and pulled her closer, burying her face into the brunette’s neck.

 

“Em, there’s something I need to tell you.” Sam murmured, and Emily’s brow furrowed with worry. Sam’s voice sounded timid and sad, a very unusual tone for the blonde. “You think that I’m in love with a straight girl.” Emily tensed at Sam’s words.  _ Oh my God, she’s not in love with ME, is she? No, no she would’ve told me already. Oh God, is she in love with Jess?  _ Emily fought to keep her panic internal, and simply nodded for Sam to continue. “Well… I’m not in love with a straight girl. I’m in love with a dead girl.” Emily gasped and drew back, eyes swimming with tears.  _ Which one? Oh God, which one?  _ “Beth. God, I loved Beth so much. And she had feelings for me too. But then that night happened, and we were about to…” Sam trailed off, tears in her eyes. Emily remembered how nobody could find Sam or Beth all night, and almost slapped herself for not connecting the dots.

 

“Oh my God, Sam, why haven’t you told anybody? I can’t imagine how much pain you’re in.” Emily hugged Sam tightly, heart breaking slightly when she felt warm tears roll down her shoulder.

 

“I don’t want them to look at me with pity in their eyes. The girl who lost her best friend and the girl she loved on the same night. No, I’m not gonna let them treat me like a victim. That’s why I haven’t told anybody, instead just devoted my time to making sure everybody else feels better. But God it hurts, it hurts so fucking much to be here, to know her room is just down the hallway, but  _ she’s not there _ , and she’ll never be there again.” Sam sobbed, and Emily bit back her own tears, just rubbing Sam’s back soothingly and pressing soft kisses to Sam’s forehead and honey blonde hair. Just then, a scream echoed through the house. Emily stiffened; she would recognize Jess’s voice anywhere. The two girls exchanged panicked looks before getting out of the tub, pulling their clothes back on, and rushing into the hallway. Jess’s scream rang out again, but this time, it sounded like it came from downstairs.

 

“Jess?! Oh God…” Emily felt her panic rising as they ran towards the stairwell. Emily slammed into Sam’s back right at the top of the stairs, because the blonde stopped dead in her tracks. “Sam?! What… What the fuck is happening?” Emily’s confusion morphed into fear as she spotted the multitude of candles and balloons with arrows on them, all pointing towards a door to the left of the stairwell. Sam slowly walked down the stairs, Emily on her heels, when they heard another scream; Jess again, this time, it sounded it it was coming from right behind that door. Sam rushed to the door and pushed it open.

 

“Jess?! Jess are yo-” Sam was cut off as a hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her through the doorway, the door slamming shut behind her. Emily screeched like a banshee and rushed at the door, trying to push it open, but it felt like it was jammed on something.

 

“Sam?! Jess?!” Emily cried out desperately, and, as a last ditch effort, she rammed her shoulder against the door. The door gave way, and Emily stumbled through the doorway, frantically looking around. There was no sign of her friends anywhere, just more balloons, this time, pointing her towards the exit. Emily fought back tears as she began to follow the trail of balloons, right out of the lodge, hoping, praying that her friends are ok.

 

 

* * *

 

Beth soon realized there was no wendigo attack; that what was going on was certainly not supernatural. Beth felt her anger grow as she spotted the creepy candles and balloons. Mike and Matt were following on her heels, looking just as confused as she was.

 

“You stupid fucks never learn, do you?” Beth hissed, unsheathing her machete and angrily slicing one of the balloons free, watching it float up to the high ceiling of the lodge. It felt strange, to say the least, to be back inside the lodge. Beth had resisted the urge to return to the lodge in the past, not wanting to dredge up old memories. Nostalgia isn’t good for her focus on her mission.

 

“What do you mean?” Mike looked genuinely confused as he inspected a cluster of candles on the banister beside him.

 

“Wendigos don’t leave behind balloons and candles when they take their victims. This was done by a human. Which one of you idiotic sadsacks decided pulling another prank on this damn mountain is good idea?” Beth snarled her question viciously, but Mike and Matt just looked at each other, confused.

 

“Beth, we came here because Josh wanted us to, in order to honor yours and Hannah’s memories. None of us would dare pull a prank under these circumstances.” Matt looked genuinely convinced of his words, and Mike nodded along, looking troubled.

 

“Guys, shut up.” Mike spoke in a hushed tone, and Beth rounded on him, about to chew him out for daring to demand anything of her, but then she heard it; Emily’s distant voice.

 

“Sam?! Jess?! Come on, guys, please answer me!” Emily’s voice was distinctly panicked, and definitely coming from outside.

 

“Guys, what about Chris, Ash, and Josh?” Matt asked worriedly, and Beth could’ve torn her hair out.

 

“Mike, you come with me, we’re gonna go find Sam, Jess, and Em. Matt, since you’re gonna be inside I feel like you should be able to fend for yourself, you try to find my brother, Chris, and Ash. And, for fucks sake, do NOT leave this lodge.” Beth ordered, before promptly grabbing Mike’s arm and pulling him back out the door with her.

 

 

* * *

 

Jess really was not having a good vacation. Her best friend got outed, her boyfriend is out in a snowstorm, hunting for a goddamn murderer, and everybody left at the lodge had all gone their separate ways. Jess paced around the second floor, trying not to let her worry for Mike consume her. Man, what she would give for a nice bath right about now. But Jess could throw that hope right out the window; Sam took notoriously long baths, it might be hours before Jess could have her turn. _ Fuck it. Sam, you’re gonna have to suck it up and take a short bath today.  _ Jess decided, storming towards the bathroom door. Jess raised her hand to knock when she heard something. Was that…  _ moaning?  _

 

“Hush, Em. Don’t make me shut you up myself.” came Sam’s husky voice from the other side of the door, and Jess felt suddenly sick to her stomach.  _ Really? Must they do this here? Couldn’t they wait the weekend, for fucks sake?  _ Jess retreated away from the bathroom door, feeling disgusted and a bit… jealous. Jess sighed and flopped down on the couch in the living room. Ok, if she was being honest with herself, maybe Jess had some more than friendly feelings for Emily. Jess has always considered her sexuality fluid, she had never been with a girl before, but she had considered it. But her  _ best friend? _ No, no, she couldn’t risk her friendship by asking her out. But now, Jess had missed her shot, and Emily was having probably wonderful sex with a much more experienced lesbian.  _ Fuck. _ Jess knows she has no one but herself to blame for missing her opportunity, but she can’t help but wonder;  _ does Em love Sam? I know Sam said she doesn’t love Emily, but does Emily feel the same way?  _ Jess closed her eyes and let her head loll back, already so over this getaway. The sound of wood creaking underfoot caught Jess’s attention. She sat up, surveying the room around her. There was no sign of anyone else around, which proved even more worrying to Jess.

 

“Hello?” Jess called out quietly, tilting her head and waiting for a response. Deep, distorted laughter echoed behind Jess, and she whipped her head around to come face to face with a person wearing a terrifying mask, the area around the glittering black eyes cracked, and the teeth protruding out. Jess screamed at the top of her lungs and scrambled away from him, getting up and running. The masked man followed, carrying tanks of  _ something _ and a gasmask. Jess screamed again as he drew closer, running through a door and slamming it shut behind her, before running and hiding behind a large, cushioned chair. Jess heard the door open and close, and she could hear the man’s heavy, distorted breathing through the mask. Jess fought back a scream as his footsteps drew closer. Then the footsteps stopped. Suddenly, a hand reached around the chair and grabbed a handful of Jess’s hair. Jess screamed, but was silenced by the mask being secured around her face. Jess faintly heard Sam calling her name, before her vision faded to black

 

 

* * *

 

Sam was cold and uncomfortable. That is the first thing that came to the blonde’s mind when she came to. Sam tried to move her arms, but realized they were tied above her head. That’s when the panic set in.

 

“Hey! Somebody help!” Sam cried out, and she heard a faint groan from next to her. Turning her head, Sam saw Jess, tied the same way she was, hanging limply from her bindings beside Sam. “Jess! Jess wake up!” Sam’s voice was apparently loud enough, because the other blonde snapped awake.

 

“Sam?! What’s happening? Oh God, is that a saw?!” Jess’s voice raised an octave as she finished her sentence, eyes locked on something glinting in the darkness in front of them. Sam squinted her eyes, and gasped as she confirmed it was, indeed, a large, very sharp looking circular saw on a track in front of them. The track split into two, one path leading to Sam, and the other leading to Jess. The blondes exchanged a panicked look, before both began to scream for help.

 

 

* * *

 

Emily trekked through the snow, following the creepy trail of balloons through the gloomy forest. Her mind was working overdrive, trying to piece together what the fuck happened.  _ Did that stranger Ashley swore was watching her do this? _ Emily was lost in her analysis when screaming drew her attention.

 

“Somebody help us! Please!” Jess screamed, and Emily barreled towards the sound, desperate to save her friends. Emily whimpered when she saw the creepy shed, but upon hearing her friend’s voices screaming from within it, Emily put on a brave face, and opened the door. The shack was dilapidated, with rusty chains, bear traps, and meat hooks hanging from the ceiling. The floorboards creaked ominously as she walked.

 

“Sam? Jess?” Emily cried out, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

 

“Emily! Over here! Oh God, you gotta help us!” Jess called out, and Emily followed her voice. Rounding a corner, bright lights suddenly flashed on, illuminating a horrifying scene; Jess and Sam were both hogtied to a large slab of wood, standing upright. There was a large circular saw on a track in front of both of them, whirring and moving slowly closer to the two girls, the track split into two, one side leading to Jess, and one side leading to Sam. On the gate in front of Emily, there was a lever; on the left side of the lever there was a picture of Jess, and on the right side there was a picture of Sam. Emily ran over to the door separating her from her friends and yanked on the handle, but to no avail.

 

_ “Hello Emily. Welcome to my little game. Before you, you have a choice; you get to choose which one lives and which one dies. If you move the lever over the picture of Jessica, Jess will live, and Sam will die. If you move the lever over the picture of Sam, Sam will live, and Jessica will die. The choice is yours.”  _ The distorted voice came from everywhere and nowhere, and Emily was frozen, staring at the lever, bile rising in her throat.

 

“Emily, honey, it’s ok. I know who you’re gonna choose.” Sam spoke solemnly, and Emily raised her eyes to meet Sam’s. The blonde’s green eyes were serene, and her lips were tilted into a sad smile. Jess was sobbing helplessly, head drooping downwards. 

 

“I’m so sorry, Sam, I’m so sorry. Oh God…” Emily sobbed, wrapping a hand around the lever, and yanking it to the left. The saw whirred faster, and the track adjusted, saw inching slowly closer to Sam.

 

_ “You have chosen to save Jessica. Now you must watch as the light leaves Samantha’s eyes.”  _ The distorted voice cackled. Emily sobbed harder, fingers curling through the small holes in the gate.

 

“NO! SAM! No please no!” Jess screamed, unable to avert her eyes from the saw as it moved ever closer to Sam. Tears ran down Sam’s face and she just shook her head vigorously, making no sound. Emily screamed, pounding on the door that separated her from her friends, no it still didn’t budge.  _ Oh my God what have I done? _

 

 

* * *

 

Beth followed the faint outlines of presumably Emily’s footprints, with Mike on her heels. It soon became obvious she was following a trail of those eerie balloons Beth found in the house, and the brunette gritted her teeth angrily.

 

“You sure this isn’t just somebody’s elaborate prank?” Beth called back, and Mike just shook his head.

 

“No, nobody would dare. Plus, who would even pull a prank like this? It’s pretty clear me, Emily, Matt, and Jess aren’t involved, and we can’t even find anybody else, so it’s safe to assume everybody is caught up in this freakshow.” Mike did make a pretty good point, Beth had to admit, but screaming from ahead of them drew their attention.

 

“NO! SAM! No please no!” screamed Jessica’s voice from an ominous looking shack standing in front of them. Beth pulled her hood up and slid her bandana and goggles back onto her face. Mike swore loudly and started to run for the door, but Beth caught his arm, and just in time. Leaping from the shadows, was Hannah. Her milky eyes were focused on the shed, and she leaped closer, trying to find an opening. Mike shot Beth an apologetic glance, before breaking free from her grasp and running for the shed door. Hannah’s head whipped around and she screeched, jumping at Mike. Beth swore loudly, and blasted Hannah with a jet of flame, knocking her backwards, before following Mike into the shed.

 

“Is you head filled with fucking sawdust?” Beth whisper screamed at Mike, but he wasn’t listening.

 

“Jess? Oh my God SAM!” Mike yelled as he rounded a corner and Beth followed him, right on his heels. What Beth was definitely not expecting to see was Sam tied to a slab of wood, a circular saw inching closer and closer to her abdomen. Jess was tied up next to her, but not in immediate danger. Emily was on their side of the fence her wide eyes locked on Mike’s face.

 

“Mike! Mike oh God there’s a psycho! He made me choose… he made me choose which one lives and I chose Jess and oh God Mike you need to save Sam!” Emily cried, gesturing wildly to the locked door. Beth moved swiftly, unsheathing her machete and slicing clean through the rusty lock. Running around the saw, Beth sliced through the binding around Sam’s wrists and pulled her to the side, just as the saw began to graze her stomach. Sam cried out in pain, leaning into Beth’s arms as she pressed her hands against the spreading red stain on her shirt.

 

“Who the hell are you? Mike, who the fuck is that?” Emily shrieked, running through the gate after Beth, grabbing her discarded machete, and cutting through Jessica’s bindings. Jess let out a sob of relief, falling into Emily’s arms. Sam regarded Beth warily, squinting at her mostly covered face as if hoping to see right through her goggles.

 

“Guys, this might come as a bit of a shock, believe me, it certainly shocked the shit outta Matt and I.” Mike said slowly, and Beth snorted. Sam’s eyes widened in disbelief. Beth removed her hood, and pulled her goggles and bandana down around her neck. Beth heard Jessica gasp and Emily say “no fucking way” behind her, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Sam was staring at her, shock written all over her face.

 

“Hey Sammy.” Beth rasped, and Sam lost it. Tears rolled down her face and she threw her arms around Beth’s neck and hugged her so tight Beth felt like all of the oxygen was being compressed right out of her body. “Hey now, if you want me to continue being alive consider not crushing my windpipe.” Beth wheezed, and Sam let go, grasping Beth’s face and tilting it down to her eye level. Sam lurched forwards, pressing her lips to Beth’s desperately. Beth blinked in surprise, melting into the kiss, arms wrapping around Sam’s lower back and pulling her closer.

 

“Ohhh-k then, so this is happening.” Jess says, confusion tinting her voice.

 

“Guys, hate to break up your lesbian reenactment of The Notebook, but I think, uh, Hannah’s still out there.” Mike fumbled, unsure of whether to use Hannah’s name when referring to the wendigo. Beth broke the kiss, sparing Sam a quick smile, before turning towards the others, already starting to calculate their escape plan. The look on Jessica’s face was positively comical, her jaw was so far open it looked almost cartoonish. Emily looked shocked, but she was already beginning to recover, and Beth could almost see the gears turning in her head as she tried to figure out how the hell Beth is still alive.

 

“Wait, did you say  _ Hannah  _ is out there?” Sam started towards the door, but Beth caught her arm.

 

“Sort of. Alright, everybody listen to me. Follow my lead. I’m gonna be in the front, Mike’s gonna be in the back, you guys are going to walk only when we walk, and stop whenever we stop. If you hear Hannah’s voice, don’t acknowledge it, and certainly don’t try to follow it. Oh, and if we say don’t move,  _ don’t fucking move.  _ ” Beth rushed through her instructions.

 

“Why would we ignore Hannah?” Jessica asked. Beth sighed, really hoping she wouldn’t have to explain the whole wendigo thing to them until they united with the rest of the group.

 

“Because she’s not herself anymore.” Beth answered simply, and Mike snorted.

 

“That’s one way to say it.” Mike snarked.

  
“Shut the fuck up, Munroe.” Beth snapped, pulling her face gear back on and approaching the door. Beth was so used to just fending for herself in these godforsaken woods, as she looked back into the terrified eyes of her friends, Beth came to a grim conclusion.  _ Not all of us are going to make it back to the lodge. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long time no post, writers block for this story hit me hard. I warn you, it might be a bit until the next chapter comes out. I'll try to work on my other UD fic until then, and I have an idea for another weird AU I might experiment with. kudos & feedback always appreciated

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Until Dawn. Title/embedded song lyrics are from start//end by EDEN. Hope you've enjoyed thus far!


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